Guilty plea entered in Longview arson case
Thursday, November 6, 2008 5:43 PM PST
By Leslie Slape
Printable version
E-mail this articleA Longview man who torched his own house pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to conspiracy to commit arson.
Ryan Mason Burge, 27, faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle on Feb. 23, 2009, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tacoma. He has agreed to pay more than $223,000 in restitution.
The hot, fast-burning fire on June 25, 2007, began with an explosion that blew out a garage door on Burge’s side of 123-125 Cowan Court. Several members of the family living on the other side were home at the time, including a girl standing directly outside. She told sheriff’s deputies she saw three men leave Burge’s side just before it exploded. Her family escaped without injury, but they lost all their belongings.
According to the news release, Burge admitted that he hatched a plan to burn down the duplex after obtaining renter’s insurance in March 2007. His intent was to burn the structure and collect on the policy.
He recruited two other men, Bryan LaFave and Brian Sacha-Nordquist, who eventually admitted their part in the conspiracy and pleaded guilty to lesser charges in Cowlitz County Superior Court.
The plea agreement states that on June 25, 2007, Burge gave one of the other conspirators his debit card, PIN and two five-gallon plastic containers and told him to fill the containers with gasoline. After the co-conspirator returned, Burge poured gasoline around inside the Cowan Court duplex and provided a means for the gas vapors to ignite. Burge went to a friend’s house and disposed of the clothing he was wearing. The gas vapors exploded, causing more than $223,000 damage to the Cowan Court duplex.
The investigation was a joint effort by the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office, Longview Fire Department, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Tate London.
Related articles:
Longview man accused of burning duplex faces federal charges (July 8)
Arson suspects were after insurance money, cops say (July 18, 2007)
Breaking News: 3rd man arrested in arson (July 17, 2007)
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