Fill in the blanks with the following words: arson, defendant, trial, police, drug dealing, sentence,

prison, witness. Some words may be used MORE than once.

The crime scene was a mess.

Firefighters had just extinguished a fire that had ripped through a local shop. It looked like a clear
case of ______________ (1), and investigators were looking for any ______________ (2) who might
have seen the culprit.

Luckily, a young woman who lived nearby claimed to be a ______________ (3) to the entire event.
She described a suspicious character leaving the shop just before the flames erupted. The
______________ (4) were called in to take her statement and began searching for the suspect.

Their search led them to a known criminal with a history of ______________ (5), for which he had
already been sentenced to 2 years. They brought him in for questioning, and after a lengthy
______________ (6), he was charged with the crime. The ______________ (7) argued that the
evidence against him was circumstantial, but the jury found him guilty.

At the sentencing hearing, the judge considered the severity of the crime before handing down a
harsh ______________ (9). The defendant would be spending a significant amount of time in
______________ (10). The case served as a reminder of the importance of speaking up about crime
and the hard work of the ______________ (11) in keeping our communities safe.

Firefighters had just extinguished a fire that had ripped through a local shop. It looked like a clear
case of arson (1), and investigators were looking for any witnesses (2) who might have seen the
culprit.

Luckily, a young woman who lived nearby claimed to be a witness (3) to the entire event. She
described a suspicious character leaving the shop just before the flames erupted. The police (4) were
called in to take her statement and began searching for the suspect.

Their search led them to a known criminal with a history of drug dealing (5), for which he had already
been sentenced to 2 years. They brought him in for questioning, and after a lengthy trial (6), he was
charged with the crime. The defendant (7) argued that the evidence against him was circumstantial,
but the jury found him guilty.

At the sentencing hearing, the judge considered the severity of the crime before handing down a
harsh sentence (9). The defendant would be spending a significant amount of time in prison (10). The
case served as a reminder of the importance of speaking up about crime and the hard work of the
police (11) in keeping our communities safe.