'He is going to kill somebody': Serial arsonist sentenced for June fire in Tooele County

TOOELE — A known arsonist in Tooele County received his sentence Monday after pleading guilty to starting another fire that threatened homes and prompted evacuations earlier this year.

A prosecutor described the case as part of a disturbing pattern for the community.

"He's going to kill somebody. Somebody is going to lose their life because he can't stop lighting fires," said Chief Deputy County Attorney Gary Searle.

Timothy West, 39, has now been convicted of arson in four separate cases. The former volunteer firefighter previously went to prison for a 2014 wildfire that burned roughly 200 acres and polluted the town of Stockton's water supply. Damages from that fire totaled more than $1 million, according to information shared during a parole hearing for West in 2015.

"He needs to go to prison, and he needs to be off the streets for a long time. I don't know that he's ever going to be cured of lighting fires," Searle told the judge during the sentencing hearing on Monday. "Again, I prosecuted him a decade ago, and he went to prison for this exact same behavior."

The latest fire near Stockton forced evacuations in June, with neighbors telling KSL at the time that it was a close call.

"Kind of feels personal. I've known him my whole life. And to think that someone you knew could do this again, almost the same spot that he started the other fire," said Tristen Allred, whose home was threatened by the June fire. "Pretty scary. Just woke up and looked out that way and saw a wall of fire and thought, 'What do I do?'"

According to charging documents, West initially denied any involvement in the fire. But the story he gave to law enforcement about his whereabouts leading up to the fire did not line up with data captured by a Flock camera.

West chose not to speak during his sentencing hearing.

However, audio recordings of his 2015 parole hearings obtained by the KSL Investigators reveal West had been diagnosed with pyromania, which is defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as "a disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorder defined by repeated, deliberate fire-setting driven by emotional tension and relief rather than external motives."

During a parole hearing, a hearing officer asked West whether setting fires was something he would be prone to do for the rest of his life.

West replied, "No."

When asked how he would control his impulses, West responded, "I've been thinking and figuring out that by controlling that I could do like light candles."

When asked if he considered any coping mechanisms that do not involve fire, West said he planned to stay busy working and spending time with his family. He was released on parole in 2018.

On Monday, Third District Judge Douglas Hogan sentenced West to serve three consecutive prison terms of zero to five years — one for each felony count he pleaded guilty to. The sentence gives the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole the authority to keep him incarcerated for up to 15 years.

"The reason I'm going to do that is I want the board to have the ability to have the maximum amount of time to try to correct whatever is wrong," said Judge Hogan. "I wish I knew what the answer was. I wish I could tell you, Mr. West, what needs to happen to fix this. I don't have the answer, and it appears up to this point that no one else has been able to give you that answer either."

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