Woman serving five months for arson

EPHRATA - A Moses Lake woman accused of conspiring to burn a broken vehicle in an attempt to collect on the insurance is serving five months in jail.

Klorissa A. K. Bennett, 37, entered an Alford plea to arson in the second degree and theft in the first degree, according to court records. The Alford plea means Bennett didn't admit to committing the crime, but felt she would be convicted if the case went to trial.

Bennett has no prior convictions and faced a sentencing range of six months to a year in jail, according to court records.

Grant County Superior Court Judge Evan Sperline followed the prosecutor's recommendation, sentencing Bennett to six months in jail with 30 days converted to 240 hours of community service, according to court records.

"Bennett had no prior criminal history and pled as law enforcement wanted and they were in agreement with her sentence," Prosecutor Angus Lee stated in a previous interview.

Grant County Fire District 5 firefighters responded to a vehicle fire on Baseline Road in November 2009, according to a Grant County sheriff's report. When investigators examined the vehicle, they found a car battery with a hand truck wrapped in wires laying on top of it. The investigators eliminated it as the cause of the fire.

Bennett's niece reportedly told an insurance investigator, Bennett planned to "blow up" the car, since the vehicle wasn't working, according to the police report. Bennett allegedly put the battery and hand truck in the vehicle to try to start the fire, when it didn't work she arranged to have Jennifer S. Devoreaux, 23, Moses Lake, set the fire while she was out.

Devoreaux told police Bennett threatened to raise her rent if she didn't go along with the plan, according to the police report. Devoreaux admitted to setting the fire by throwing lit notebook paper into the vehicle, while Bennett and her niece were at Walmart.

Devoreaux pleaded guilty to reckless burning in the first degree and was sentenced to 40 days in jail with 30 days converted to 240 hours of community service.