Man pleads guilty in arson attack of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's residence

The man charged in the April arson attack at Pennsylvania Gov.

The man charged in the April arson attack at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence was sentenced to decades in prison on Tuesday after pleading guilty to several charges.

Cody A. Balmer, 38, pleaded guilty to attempted murder, aggravated arson, 22 counts of arson, burglary, and other offenses in connection with the incident at a Tuesday court hearing, according to the Dauphin County District Attorney's Office. Under the plea deal, he was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in state prison, the district attorney's office said in a statement.

Prosecutors accused Balmer of breaking into the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg and setting it on fire on April 13, the second day of Passover. Shapiro, who is Jewish, was having a Passover Seder at the home the night before the attack, according to officials.

Security footage shows an intruder climbing the property's fence, approaching the home's piano room on the south side of the house, and breaking an exterior window with a hammer, according to a probable cause affidavit. The affidavit says that the intruder then threw a Molotov cocktail inside, setting the house ablaze. Prosecutors said the residence sustained “substantial damage.”

Firefighters respond to a fire at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's residence in Harrisburg, Pa., on April 13.Capital City Fire PhotosThe Democratic governor, first lady Lori Shapiro, several members of the governor's staff, and others were in the home when the fire erupted in the early hours of the morning, but were safely evacuated.