SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- A former volunteer firefighter was sentenced to five years in prison for starting a fire that destroyed a grass seed warehouse in Fairfield.
U.S. District Judge Fred Van Sickle on Thursday gave Kenneth Southwell credit for a year he's spent in jail following his arrest in September 2003.
Southwell, 46, was convicted of starting the fire that destroyed the Heart Seed Co. in Fairfield and a freshly harvested crop of grass seed inside the facility, causing $4.4 million in damage. Fairfield is about 30 miles southeast of Spokane.
A federal jury convicted Southwell in August of malicious use of fire to damage property involved in interstate commerce. As much as 90 percent of the grass seed came from Idaho, making the arson a federal interstate crime.
Eight days after the Labor Day 2003 fire, Southwell told federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents that he started that blaze and five others in the area using flares and other supplies he took from the fire district.
The seed processing warehouse was the small farming community's largest employer. Prosecutors contended Southwell held a grudge against one of the plant's employees.
Southwell was a director of Emergency Medical Services for Spokane Country Fire District 2 and was acting fire chief because the department's top two officials were out of the district for the Labor Day holiday.
Van Sickle said he will schedule a hearing within 90 days to determine whether Southwell will be required to pay restitution.
Information from The Spokesman-Review
