Placer County man sentenced to prison for ‘maliciously’ starting forest fires, DA says
A Placer Superior Court judge has sentenced a Lincoln man convicted of arson after he started a series of fires in forest lands over a few days last year, prosecutors said.
Judge Suzanne Kingsbury on July 12 sentenced 38-year-old Ryan Dale Lapp to 10 years in prison for the fires he “maliciously” started on forest lands near Baxter Grade Road in Auburn, McCourtney Road in Lincoln and Greenbrae Road in Rocklin, the Placer County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
On May 19, Lapp pleaded no contest to four felony counts of arson on forest land and four felony counts of possessing materials or a device used for arson stemming from the fires on Aug. 26 and 31, court records show.
Prosecutors said these arson fires were “more serious” than other similar crimes, because Lapp started multiple vegetation fires with a level of planning involving incendiary ignition devices, planning the locations for the fires and “watching the fires” after he started them.
Cal Fire law enforcement officers arrested Lapp on Sept. 3 — a few days after authorities found and extinguished the fires. Prosecutors said investigators searched Lapp’s vehicle and found a box of Zippo Typhoon waterproof matches and a constructed paper napkin wick used as an incendiary device.
Lapp did not express remorse for the fires as he was questioned by investigators, and he “poses a serious danger to the community,” according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Deputy District Attorney Nancy Smith prosecuted the case against Lapp.
“Placer County takes arson very seriously,” Smith said in a news release. “Not only do arsonists pose a threat to the year-round fire preparedness efforts of our fire officials, county agencies and residents, one spot fire has the threat to turn into a devastating wildfire.”
On Tuesday, Lapp was already serving his sentence at a North Kern State Prison in Delano, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
