By Nisqually Valley News staff
Detectives with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, working in collaboration with the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force, have apprehended a fifth suspect wanted in connection with the Chelan Hills fire.
The U.S. Marshals Service announced the arrest with a news release Friday afternoon.
According to Douglas County Sheriff’s Office detectives, multiple individuals allegedly fired Roman candles from a moving truck on July 4 while Douglas County was under a burn ban, prohibiting fireworks and open burning. Investigators determined the fireworks ignited dry grass along the roadway, starting the Chelan Hills fire.
The wildfire killed a 69-year-old man, injured six firefighters, destroyed more than 100 structures, burned more than 10,000 acres and resulted in more than $6 million in losses and property damage.
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office detectives continued to work closely with the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force in Yakima to locate an additional suspect responsible for igniting the fires.
Thursday, members of the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force in Western Washington conducted an arrest operation and arrested 19-year-old David Radchanka of Roy, Washington. Four other teenage suspects linked to the fire were arrested several weeks prior, including: Michael Yakimov, 18, of Kent; Mark Okhrimchik, 19, of University Place; Valentin Tabunscic, 18, of Tacoma; and Julian Mikityuk, 19, of Pacific.
Additional information regarding the defendants, charges, and arrests will be released by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office at a later date.
The Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force is a U.S. Marshals-led partnership comprised of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers from Washington, Oregon and Alaska. The Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force’s primary mission is to locate, apprehend, and return the most violent and egregious federal and state fugitives to the justice system.
The U.S. Marshals Office asks anyone with information on wanted fugitives to contact the nearest U.S. Marshals office, the U.S. Marshals Service Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102 or the USMS Tips App.
