A Mahanoy City man who beat a woman, poured bleach on her and then set her home on fire last December will spend up to 24 years behind bars for attempted murder and arson.

Schuylkill County President Judge William Baldwin on Nov. 17 sentenced Joseph Yeich, 28, to state prison for his crimes.He also ordered Yeich to pay $59,890 in restitution to the Travelers Insurance company, $4,005 to David Bickowski, and $250 to Grace Richmond.Yeich was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, causing a catastrophe, arson, criminal mischief, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.Baldwin sentenced him to up to 20 years on the attempted murder charge and from two to fours years additionally on the arson charge.Yeich will also serve four to eight years on the aggravated assault charge; two to four on the causing a catastrophe; nine to 18 months on one criminal mischief charge, and one to two months on the recklessly endangering another person charge.All of those sentences are to be served concurrently, or at the same time, as the attempted murder and arson sentences.Baldwin gave Yeich credit for 341 days he already served.A jury on Sept. 2 found Yeich guilty of criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder, aggravated assault, causing a catastrophe, arson, criminal mischief and recklessly endangering another person. They reached the verdicts after two days of testimony and deliberations.According to court documents and testimony, Yeich on Dec. 11 threw bleach on and severely beat Elrena L. Gibson in her home on Pine Street in Mahanoy City, where he had been staying.Then he set a fire in the basement that spread to adjacent homes.Gibson was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, where she was treated. She testified at a preliminary hearing that the assault happened in the basement, where Yeich asked for bleach for something he was working on.She handed a bottle to him, but he said it was the wrong one and assaulted her. She fled the fire through the cellar door after waiting a bit until Yeich had left the house.Police found Yeich a short time later in a house at 1038 Market St.