YAKIMA, Wash.-A Grandview man has been sentenced for a string of fires that caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage in 2022.
Christopher Vaughn Schlax, 48, was sentenced to 60 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to a series of burglaries and fires on the morning of July 4, 2022, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington’s Office.
“Mr. Schlax not only committed burglaries, but then, to cover up his crimes, he started fires that endangered firefighters, law enforcement and members of the community,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref.
Schlax started a fire at the Lineage Logistics warehouse in Grandview on June 27, 2022 to distract law enforcement from a series of burglaries he was involved in, according to court documents.
The fire caused $423,654 in property damage to the warehouse.
On the morning of July 4, Schlax started a fire that caused $1.5 million in damage at River Valley Fruit to distract from a robbery he had planned at the Dollar Tree in Grandview.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Schlax and an accomplice then broke into the Dollar Tree and he used a torch to cut into the store’s safe. The torch started a fire in the store, causing an estimated $1.8 million in damage to the store.
Schlax’s accomplice entered a not guilty plea and is currently awaiting trial.
