He wanted to distract clerks so he could steal a PlayStation. The fire cost millions

A West Richland man will spend 4 1/2 years in prison for starting a fire inside a Fred Meyer to cover up the theft of a PlayStation.

Daniel R. Wright, 36, pleaded guilty this week to setting the Jan. 26 fire that closed down the Richland superstore for almost three days and caused millions in damages.

In exchange for his plea in Benton County Superior Court to first-degree arson, prosecutors dismissed a second charge for trafficking in stolen property.

Wright reportedly planned to trade the video game console for heroin.

He initially denied being at the Wellsian Way store at 9:30 p.m. the night of the fire, but his wife told investigators she had not seen her husband since 8 p.m.

Wright had named his wife as his alibi, court documents said. He also was seen on store video.

Richland firefighters and police responded to Fred Meyer that night to find heavy smoke and flames in an area near the garden center.

Employees and customers evacuated as the fire suppression system’s sprinklers suffocated the flames.

It was only when store workers reviewed the surveillance footage that they realized the fire was started intentionally.

Earlier, employees had denied Wright’s attempt to return a pair of headphones. Instead of leaving, he walked toward the back of the store, set some items on fire and walked out with a PlayStation without paying for it while clerks were distracted by the smoke, documents said.

He gave the console to Eliseo J. Garcia, who was supposed to give him heroin. But 30 minutes later, Wright had Garcia drive him to the Benton County jail because he was serving on a work crew for another crime.

Richland police soon discovered that the man in the Fred Meyer surveillance video was the same man who had just checked into the Kennewick facility. Wright was wearing the same clothes at the jail that the alleged arsonist was wearing in the footage, court documents said.

Garcia, who lives in Kennewick, was arrested two days later. He pleaded guilty to a stolen property charge in May and got three months in jail.

Wright’s criminal history includes theft, identity theft and possessing a stolen vehicle and methamphetamines.

His sentencing range for arson was four to five years in prison.

Prosecutors recommended the 4 1/2-year term, which was agreed to by the defense.

This story was originally published December 21, 2018 at 12:23 PM.