Two Additional Teens Arrested For Manslaughter, Arson In Connection To Deadly Chelan Hills Fire

Authorities in North Central Washington have arrested two more suspects in connection with the deadly Chelan Hills Fire earlier this summer.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office says its agents worked in collaboration with the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force to apprehend 18-year-old Valentin Tabunscic of Tacoma and 19-year-old Julian Mikityuk of Pacific on Thursday.

Mikityuk and Tabunscic were both transported to the Chelan County Regional Justice Center where they were each booked on charges of first-degree manslaughter, first-degree arson, malicious mischief, and six counts of third-degree assault for their roles in the blaze which blackened over 10,000 acres and destroyed 19 homes and over 100 other structures in Northwestern Douglas County, as well as injuring six firefighters and killing 69-year-old Robert Lister in early July.

Also arrested Thursday was 19-year-old Mark Okhrimchik of University Place, who was booked into the Chelan County Regional Justice Center on the same charges as Mikityuk and Tabunscic.

Thursday's arrests came two weeks after police apprehended 18-year-old Michael Yakimov of Kent, who is described by prosecutors as being the primary suspect in the case.

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Yakimov was also charged with the same nine counts as his alleged accomplices and remains held in the Chelan County Regional Justice Center on $1 million bail. At a hearing in Douglas County Superior Court on Thursday, Yakimov pled not-guilty to all of the charges against him.

Investigators say the four teens now in police custody are among six young men who are responsible for sparking the deadly blaze by recklessly discharging illegal aerial fireworks from the back of a pickup truck that was traveling on U.S. Highway 97 near the Beebe Bridge on the night of July 4.

Douglas County Sheriff Tyler Caille issued a statement Friday, saying, “These arrests underscore the strength of our collaboration with the U.S. Marshals Service. By working together and acting quickly, we were able to locate and apprehend the three suspects, providing an important step toward justice for the life lost, the firefighters injured, and the community forever changed by this wildfire.”

Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Michael Leigh for the Eastern District of Washington also said of Thursday's arrests, “the hard work, great collaboration and swift action of law enforcement officers in Douglas County and across the state contributed to the successful apprehension of these three individuals. We will continue to aggressively pursue anyone involved in intentionally setting fires and destroying our communities.”

Caille says his agency is still seeking two more suspects in the case, including one whose arrest is pending the issuance of a necessary warrant, and another who is still in the process of being positively identified.