Spokane man sentenced to 5 years in prison, $4.9 million fine for 2021 church arson | News

SPOKANE, Wash. – 25-year-old Rios A. Mirabal has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for the Arson of St Charles Parrish and School in Spokane.

United States Senior District Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson also ordered Mirabal to pay $4.9 million in restitution for the damages that were caused by the fire.

On March. 18, 2021 around 1:30 am, an officer with the Spokane Police Department (SPD) reported a fire after noticing an orange light coming from one of the windows at St Charles Parrish and School. Shortly after reporting the fire, the officer heard a loud ‘boom’ and saw the fire spreading to the roof of the building.

Emergency crews responded and were able to stop the fire before it spread to the church part of the building, however, the school had significant damages.

Police arrested Mirabal on March. 26, 2021 after SPD released surveillance video of him breaking into the church and entering multiple rooms with a lit candle. Mirabal also left several fingerprints on-scene after he removed several bottles of communion wine. Mirabal has been in federal custody since the time of his arrest.

After his release from prison, Mirabal will serve three years of supervised release.