Dustin Timm was drunk when he slashed the tires on his ex-wife's new boyfriend's truck and tried to start the man's Waukesha house on fire last spring.
Timm, 34, of Delafield was sentenced April 27 in Waukesha County Circuit court for arson, according to online court records. Judge Lloyd Carter presided over the hearing.
Timm pleaded guilty to the class C felony in February.
Carter imposed but stayed a sentence of eight years in prison and five years of extended supervision for Timm in favor or 10 years of probation, court records show. However, as a condition of that probation, Timm will spend the next six months in jail.
Carter also ordered Timm to pay nearly $23,000 total in restitution to the victim and three separate insurance companies; maintain absolute sobriety; and not to have any contact with the victim, his brother, or their homes.
According to a pre-sentencing report, Timm said he 'snapped' last April when he discovered his then-estranged wife had begun a relationship with the Waukesha man while she and Timm were separated.
Timm subsequently sent the victim anonymous text messages, warning him about pursuing the relationship, and early in the morning April 17 drove over to man's house in the 900 block of Madison Street and vandalized his truck before setting the man's back porch on fire.
The man, his adult brother and several dogs were asleep in the home, but awoke and extinguished the fire with a garden hose before calling 911.
Timm said in the report that he was drunk when he drove over to the man's home and vandalized his car to try to convince the man to break up with his ex-wife. He was unsure how the incident escalated to arson, but added in the report that he accepted full responsibility for his actions.
The victim, in a letter to the court, said the incident was a 'very scary and traumatic experience.'
'My family and I are anxious for closure so we can put this whole episode behind us and move forward with our lives,' he wrote.
Five additional charges pending against Timm — criminal damage to property, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, sending a threatening computer message and disorderly conduct — were dismissed but read into the record as part of a plea agreement.
Court records indicate that Timm and his wife were officially divorced last September. The couple had lived together in Hartland, but sold that home as part of the divorce settlement.