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Serial WA arsonist who has 'fascination with fire' sentenced to 20 years in prison
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Serial WA arsonist who has 'fascination with fire' sentenced to 20 years in prison

The Seattle Times·Donald W. Meyers Yakima Herald-Republic·19 days ago
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A Yakima man was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for setting fires on federal land and the Yakama Nation reservation between 2023 and 2024. While Chief U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian appreciated Zachary Vantuyl’s willingness to accept responsibility, he believed a harsh sentence was necessary. “You have a fascination with fire,” Bastian told Vantuyl during the sentencing hearing Monday in the William O. Douglas Federal Courthouse in Yakima. “You need help with that.” Vantuyl, 34, pleaded guilty in January  to four counts of arson on federal land and single counts of setting fire to timber and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Vantuyl also agreed to pay $1 million restitution, a task that his attorney, Craig Webster, said will likely take Vantuyl’s entire life to complete. Prosecutors said Vantuyl set fires on the Yakama Reservation and in and near the Yakima River Canyon in 2023 and 2024.…

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