http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Man-who-set-stepfather-ablaze-to-face-judge-in-12513838.php
Man who set stepfather ablaze to face judge in Schenectady
Published 7:41 pm, Sunday, January 21, 2018
A Schenectady man who poured gasoline on his stepfather and then used a lighter to ignite it faces 25 years to life in prison when he's sentenced for murder on Monday.
Andrell Leppanen, now 31, was convicted of second-degree murder on Dec. 15 despite having a diagnosis of bipolar with psychotic features and dramatic mood disorder of schizoaffective disorder.
In August 2016, Leppanen doused his Kevin Hawkins, 59, with gasoline and set him ablaze at 925 Bridge St. after a disagreement.
Prosecutors said the killing was planned.
Leppanen transferred the gas from a container with a spout to a pot that made it easier to throw it and then went to Hawkins' room where the man was sleeping.
It came out at trial that Leppanen first used a cigarette and then resorted to a lighter to set Hawkins on fire.
"We have a series of conscious decisions that led him to his victim," Assistant District Attorney Christina Tremante-Pelham said last month.
The jury convicted Leppanen of second-degree murder and assault, while acquitting him of a second assault offense and two misdemeanors, including arson, said Stephen Signore, who represented the Leppanen.
Leppanen is expected to be sentenced Monday morning in state Supreme Court.
