Repeat Arson Suspect Arrested in Wenatchee Fire

A Wenatchee man is in jail for allegedly starting a small fire near Hale Park on the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail.

Hale Park Fire on Aug. 12

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Police say 51-year-old Timothy Whitney started the fire Aug. 12, and crews knocked it down without much struggle. Witnesses reported seeing a man leaving the scene who matched Whitney's description, and Wenatchee police arrested him three days later.

Prosecutors charged Whitney on one count of second-degree arson. He is in the Chelan County jail on a $25,000 bond.

History of Prior Fire Offenses

This is the third time in the last year and a half Whitney has been accused of starting a fire, damaging public or private property. He pled guilty to setting fire to a drainage pipe along North Wenatchee Ave., causing $260,000 in damage to a culvert running beneath Hawley Street in February and served four months in jail. He also served time for a reckless burning charge for starting a fire last year, burning a construction business on South Wenatchee Ave.