Man gets prison term for trying to break into Tumwater credit union with torch, causing fire
A 34-year-old man, described as a trained welder, was sentenced to prison on Monday after he pleaded guilty to arson and attempted larceny of a Tumwater credit union in 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington announced.
The man used an oxyacetylene welder’s torch to try to open an ATM and gain access to the building, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office news release.
Randall Taufete’e, who pleaded guilty in March, was sentenced to 66 months in prison, or more than five years, plus he will be on three years of supervised release following his prison term, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Taufete’e and a co-defendant, Brandon Ronald Collado, were indicted in January 2023. Collado pleaded guilty in June 2023 and was sentenced to 30 months in prison, according to the release.
They also will be required to pay nearly $200,000 in restitution for damage to the credit union.
On Oct. 24, 2022, Tumwater fire crews were dispatched to a fire alarm at an O Bee Credit Union branch. They saw flames coming from the top of the ATM machine which was in a wall of the building. The flames were extinguished but smoke had filled the building, according to the release.
Surveillance video showed two men using a pry bar, an electric saw and the torch.
Days after the fire, Taufete’e was taken into state custody for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Agents then identified Taufete’e as one of the men in the surveillance video.
Prosecutors had sought a 92-month sentence, saying that Taufete’e has more than a dozen criminal convictions as an adult, including for theft, assault, robbery, burglary, and firearms possession, according to the release.
The case was investigated by the Tumwater police with the assistance of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.
