黑料福利社

A man accused of setting a string of fires in the 黑料福利社 is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court May 11.

Zachary Tyler Vantuyl, 34, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in January to single counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and setting timber on fire, and four counts of arson on federal property. He is currently in the Yakima County jail.

In return for the plea, the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office dropped two counts of arson on federal property involving the Roza Fire and the Yakima River fires in June 2024.

The case was heard in federal court because the fires occurred on federal or tribal land.

Vantuyl has a prior conviction on two counts of first-degree arson and three counts of second-degree arson for fires he set in 2012 in Ellensburg. Those fires destroyed a home and partially damaged another home, barns at the Kittitas County fairgrounds and the clothing bank at First United Methodist Church.

At that sentencing, Kittitas County Superior Court Judge Scott Sparks counseled Vantuyl to get help for his 鈥渦nhealthy interest in fire,鈥� according to the . Sparks sentenced him to 10 years in state prison.

Series of 黑料福利社 fires

Prosecutors said聽Vantuyl set fires on the Yakima Reservation and in and near the Yakima River Canyon in 2023 and 2024. Court documents state that Vantuyl set a fire in the 700 block of Hubbard Lane in White Swan on May 15, 2023. At that fire, Vantuyl was seen driving an ATV and wearing a yellow firefighter鈥檚 jacket, saying he was a volunteer firefighter for Ellensburg.

The property belonged to Vantuyl鈥檚 landlord at the time, and Vantuyl was living there, the documents said. A fire investigator noticed other fires along the ATV track.

On Sept. 3, 2024, a fire burned next to Burbank Creek Road in the Yakima Canyon on state Department of Natural Resources land, reaching 50 acres. A witness told Bureau of Land Management investigators that he saw Vantuyl鈥檚 truck 鈥減eeling out鈥� from the area just before flames became visible, with Vantuyl saying he was with DNR.

His truck was spotted by a Kittitas County firefighter at the scene later.

The next two fires, the South Slope and Roza Slope fires, were set in the canyon Sept. 12, 2023. A BLM investigator determined that someone used a flare gun to start both fires, the court documents said.

A witness saw Vantuyl鈥檚 truck above the Roza dam in the area of the Roza Slope Fire, the documents said. The two fires burned a total of 541 acres and aircraft were also deployed to put out the fires.

On Sept. 25, 2024, Selah firefighters were called to a wildfire on BLM land in the Yakima River Canyon. The Selah Butte Fire, as it is referred to, burned 200 acres of land and was deemed arson.

A Selah firefighter spotted Vantuyl鈥檚 pickup speeding away from the fire scene, only to return 15 minutes later as its driver watched the fire.

In the dismissed counts, prosecutors alleged that Vantuyl used a flare gun to set the Roza and Yakima River fires, burning 80 acres and a quarter-acre respectively. Investigators found a flare gun at Vantuyl鈥檚 Yakima apartment in a safe, but a ballistic analysis was inconclusive as to whether the gun was used to start either fire, leading the government to dismiss those counts.

Sentencing recommendations

Vantuyl was also found with a Savage Arms .22-caliber rifle in his pickup. His prior felony conviction bars him from possessing a firearm, court documents said.

鈥淭he disturbing pattern shows that the defendant is an unrepentant arsonist, highly manipulative and lies in order to claim that he is a firefighter, presumably so that he can gain access to fire and/or fire investigations,鈥� Assistant U.S. Attorney Letitia Sikes wrote in her sentencing memorandum.

鈥淭he defendant is a dangerous person and precisely the type of individual who should be sentenced to a long period of confinement after prior convictions and interventions failed to deter future conduct, in order to ensure that he does not put the public at additional risk.鈥�

Sikes asked for 12 years in the memo. Her recommendation was for more than the maximum 8.75 years recommended in federal sentencing guidelines.

Craig Webster, Vantuyl鈥檚 attorney, argued in his memorandum for a seven-year sentence, which was the low end of the sentencing range. Vantuyl, Webster said, saw his parents divorced when he was 9 and he lived primarily with his father, who struggled with drug addiction, as his mother was in and out of jail.

Vantuyl was run over by a tractor as a child, leaving him blind in his right eye, and with a speech impediment and mental illness.聽

While he was in prison, Vantuyl earned his GED certificate and obtained an associate degree, Webster wrote. While Vantuyl had been taken to Eastern State Hospital twice, he has never received mental-health treatment, which Webster said Vantuyl needed.

However, Sikes, in her memo, said it was presumed that he had received "extensive mental health evaluations and/or treatment, as noted by the fact that he had spent some time as an inpatient" at the Medical Lake hospital.

Family members, Vantuyl鈥檚 pastor and others wrote letters attesting to Vantuyl鈥檚 character and his willingness to accept responsibility.

Webster said a seven-year sentence was adequate, as it would allow Vantuyl to get the help he needs to straighten out his life and to get a job that will help him toward paying off the $1 million in restitution he committed to paying.

鈥淗e is 34 years old. Unless he unexpectedly wins the lottery, he will be paying a hefty financial price for the rest of his life for his actions in the case at bar,鈥� Webster wrote. 鈥淗e recognizes the significant harm that his actions have caused. He is ready and willing to accept responsibility and to pay down his restitution for the rest of his life.

鈥淭his will be a constant reminder of the cost of his wrongdoing.鈥�