Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
RIGBY, Idaho — A Rexburg man with a passion for cars but without the means to support it was sentenced Monday for setting his car on fire in a plot to get the insurance money.
Daniel Godby, 27, was sentenced to five years probation, the Post Register reports. The sentence was recommended by both the defense and the prosecution based on the fact that Godby had no previous felonies. He had been charged with first-degree arson and insurance fraud, though the arson charge was dropped as part of a plea agreement.
District Judge Stevan Thompson gave Godby a withheld sentence, meaning the conviction can be cleared from his record if he completes probation. The underlying sentence was two years fixed and four years indeterminate.
Thompson also ordered that Godby could not make any purchase over $500 without his probation officer’s permission, saying his financial troubles came in part from him impulsively buying 23 cars in the last year alone, only for them to be repossessed when he couldn’t make payments.
Godby was arrested with Tanner Poole, 20, after police discovered the fraud. According to court documents, the pair agreed to set the 2017 Ford Focus on fire and make it look like an accident. Poole would receive half the insurance money for helping.
Both men told Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies they were sitting in the car when they heard popping noises and saw smoke coming from the dash.
The deputies became skeptical when firefighters told them the blaze was too hot and spread too quickly for their explanation.
Poole told investigators Godby offered him money to go along with the story, and that Godby started the fire.
Godby said they planned the fire together, and that Poole started the fire by cutting the fuel lines under the hood.
Poole was sentenced in June to a rider program with an underlying sentence of five to 15 years in prison, a more severe sentence than his partner was given. District Judge Gregory Moeller based the sentence on Poole’s prior burglary convictions.
Thompson also ordered Godby to write a letter of apology to the insurance company he tried to defraud.
