Man pleads guilty to storage arson
File photo<br> Moses Lake firefighters extinguished a blaze at Broadway Storage in November.
EPHRATA — A 29-year-old man pleaded guilty to starting a fire at a Moses Lake storage facility, damaging 12 units.
Jason Kneff, a transient living in Moses Lake, entered an Alford guilty plea to charges of arson in the second degree and attempt to take a motor vehicle in Grant County Superior Court.
He stated he didn’t think he was guilty of the charges, but felt a jury would convict him of higher charges, according to court records.
Prosecutors plan to ask the judge for the maximum sentence of nine months. Kneff has no prior ?criminal history, according to court records.
Kneff was charged with arson, but claims he was only smoking inside of a storage unit owned by his mother in November 2009 when the fire started, according to a Moses Lake police report. He claims he didn’t know how the fire started.
He was charged with attempting to take a motor vehicle for reportedly failing to return a rental car after nearly a month later, according to a police report.
Prosecutor Angus Lee stated Kneff agreed to pay $3,362 in restitution to the car rental company.
A restitution hearing for the arson will be scheduled once the victims submit their requests.