by Kevin Killough
A Spokane, Washington, man was arrested and charged with setting the largest of three wildfires that crews have been battling in the region this week.
Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, was arrested Monday and charged with suspicion of first-degree arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, the Associated Press reported.
In 2010, Farinacci shot and killed his father after an argument about washing dishes, police said. Farinacci also shot himself but survived, the Associated Press reported at the time. He was charged with murder but pleaded guilty in 2012 to manslaughter and aggravated assault, court records show. He was released from prison in 2020.
According to 12 News, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said, ” Mr. Farinacci is a convicted felon out of the state of Arizona.”
“Major crimes detectives in Spokane County were able to identify him. They developed probable cause and determined the origin of the fire was indeed exactly where the witnesses had seen Mr. Farinacci kneeling in the grass earlier that day,” he added, the outlet reported.
The outlet also reported Gov. Bob Ferguson said he was informed of Farinacci’s past criminal history.
“The individual we understand does have a criminal record,” Gov. Ferguson said. “It just takes a tragic situation, and makes it more heartbreaking to think that much of this damage could have been caused by an individual doing this on purpose. It adds to a really challenging situation.”
Police were led to Farinacci by a tip from someone who saw a man bent by the side of the road near some grass and appearing to be nervous. Farinacci was questioned and released, Sheriff John Nowles said Monday.
Farinacci was again identified when major crimes detectives began investigating reports and footage from body cameras, which indicated the fire started near where the witness had seen a man by the side of the road. Farinacci had matches and a butane lighter when he was arrested, Nowles said. He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
The three fires have destroyed at least 700 buildings, and 67,000 people were forced to evacuate around Spokane. The cause of the other two fires is still under investigation. The three fires remain uncontained as of Tuesday morning.
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Kevin Killough is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
