Men Plead Guilty to Lighting Stolen Truck on Fire, Theft Charges

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Two local 21-year-old men accused of stealing more than $6,000 worth of items and a truck, then setting the stolen vehicle on fire, have pleaded guilty to arson and theft charges.

Derek W. Vandelaarschot, of Centralia, and Derek M. Rohr, of Rochester, both pleaded guilty to second-degree arson, theft of a motor vehicle and first-degree theft. Vandelaarschot’s guilty plea came on Oct. 14 while Rohr’s came on Tuesday.

On the same day of their respective guilty pleas, Vandelaarschot was sentenced to 15 months in prison followed by 18 months of community custody by Lewis County Superior Court Judge Andrew Toynbee. Rohr was sentenced to 12 months of electronic home monitoring (EHM) followed by 12 months of community custody by Superior Court Judge James Lawler.

While the two men pleaded guilty to the same charges, their sentences looked different because of their criminal history, or “offender score,” which influences a person’s sentencing range in Washington, according to Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead.

“They pled to the exact same thing, but Vandelaarschot had criminal history … that made his score higher,” Halstead said. “And then (Rohr) had zero criminal history, so his range was lower.”

While on the surface it might appear that electronic home monitoring is a more appealing sentence, Halstead said an EHM sentencing could actually be viewed as a harsher punishment.

“The court made the comment that (EHM) would probably be worse than actually going to prison, because in prison you get credit for time served, probably get released early with COVID, but now he’s got to do a full year without good time on EHM,” Halstead said.

“Good time” refers to an inmate getting their sentence reduced by demonstrating good behavior while in prison.

It was alleged that the two men got into a dispute with individuals early in the morning of July 25 at a house party over a Donald Trump sticker, and in retaliation for the argument, stole a 2009 Ford F-150 truck along with what police estimated to be more than $6,000 worth of items.

Later in the morning, the two men took the stolen truck to an area near the 100 block of Harris Road in Rochester, threw tree branches into the vehicle, doused it with gasoline and torched the car, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

Riverside Fire Authority responded to the fire at about 7:04 a.m. on July 25 and requested law enforcement’s assistance because the vehicle appeared like it had been set on fire.

Police were able to contact the owner of the vehicle and learned that the owner’s son had been using the truck and took it to the party.

When police contacted the owner’s son, who was accompanied by five other individuals at the Foron Road house where the party was held, they told police that a group of three people, one of which they identified as Vandelaarschot, came to the party uninvited at approximately 2 a.m. or 3 a.m.

They were asked to leave the party after they were involved in an argument that broke out over a Trump sticker on a cooler, according to court documents. The six men police spoke with said they were unaware anything had been stolen until learning the burned car had been found.

Police would later identify Rohr through video surveillance footage from a nearby property where the truck was burned. According to the affidavit, the surveillance footage showed a white truck that followed the Ford F-150 to the location it was destroyed. The white truck was registered to Rohr’s stepfather.

When police contacted Rohr, he admitted that he was with Vandelaarschot when they stole the items and the truck. He also told police that they did it because Vandelaarschot was offended over the argument about the Trump sticker.