Timothy D. West
The Stockton man accused of setting a wildfire that threatened homes in Stockton and damaged the town’s water tank last July has been sentenced to up to five years in the Utah State Prison.
Timothy D. West, a 28-year-old former volunteer firefighter in Stockton, was sentenced to prison Feb. 24 in 3rd District Court after being convicted on charges of arson and causing a catastrophe, both third-degree felonies. The prison time from the two charges will be served concurrently.
On Jan. 13, West entered a plea deal with the state to reduce the arson and causing a catastrophe charges from second-degree felonies to third-degree felonies and dismiss a misdemeanor reckless endangerment charge in exchange for a guilty plea.
According to minutes from the sentencing, Judge Robert Adkins recommended that West take mental health counseling in the prison.
Prior to his January court date, West had been held in the Tooele County Detention Center. He also had to undergo a series of competency evaluations to determine if he could stand trial.
Investigators arrested West, who was accused of setting the blaze on purpose and later reporting it himself, four days after the July 16 fire. This marks the third time West has been convicted of arson.
In March 2010, he was arrested for starting a dumpster fire behind the Tooele County Health Department. He later pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor arson charges in May 2010 and was placed on two years probation, according to court records.
In May 2011, West was charged with two counts of arson of the property of another for a fire he started while working as a security guard at Rio Tinto that spread to a nearby field. West pleaded guilty to one count of arson and the other was dismissed. He was sentenced to a suspended term of six months and a year of probation.
West’s father, Don West, and brother, Don West Jr., both previously served as chiefs of Stockton’s fire department. Timothy West served as a volunteer for several years until he left the department in 2010.
More than 100 firefighters from six local agencies battled the July 16 blaze that West set. Homeowners near the 179-acre fire were forced to evacuate and some homes received smoke and heat damage.
The one complete loss from the wildfire was Stockton’s 500,000-gallon water tank. The town’s water supply was contaminated and residents were prohibited from consuming the water for four days.
Bottled drinking water was brought into the town, along with water tankers, to keep impacted residents supplied.
The Stockton Town Council voted to demolish the old water tank and replace it adjacent to the previous site. The cost of the new tank, which is expected to be completed this spring, will be mostly covered by insurance money.