2 men sentenced in 2008 Vinton arson: The wife of one of the men, who had lived in the home that burned, is to be sentenced April 5. [The Roanoke Times, Va.]

The third defendant in the case, Combow's wife, Melissa Michelle Combow, 41, is to be sentenced April 5. She has pleaded guilty to an arson conspiracy charge.

At earlier hearings, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennie Waering outlined a scheme in which Shawn Combow and his wife agreed to pay their friend Woods $5,000 from the insurance they hoped to collect from the fire. All three were in financial straits, according to the prosecutor. The Combows thought they could collect more than $460,000 in insurance, because they ran U-Haul and car-detailing businesses from the residence, which was owned by Shawn Combow's mother, Waering said.

While the Combows took a trip to Virginia Beach in December 2008, Woods torched their Hardy Road home, Waering said. Before setting the blaze, the arsonist swapped the couple's washer and dryer for his older appliances. Officials quickly pegged the fire as an arson and by February 2009, both Combows confessed.

U.S. District Court Judge Glen Conrad said he wouldn't impose a fine because neither Woods nor Shawn Combow could afford it. He said all three defendants will be jointly responsible for coming up with $167,832, to be divided among Allstate Insurance Co. and the Roanoke County and Vinton fire departments.

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