Man heading to prison for burning a Pasco church and a series of other break-ins
A 37-year-old Pasco man said his delusions led him to break into a number of buildings, setting several fires including one that damaged a church.
Seth Klindworth will serve four years in prison in connection with a 2023 crime spree that ended with him setting fire to the Apostolic Lutheran Church of Tri-Cities.
“I’m ashamed of the things that I did,” Klindworth said during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday. “I would like to apologize to the victims. I never meant any ill toward them.”
He told Judge David Petersen that he was having delusions that led him to break into several Pasco buildings about a year ago.
He pleaded guilty in Franklin County Superior Court to second-degree arson and two counts of second-degree burglary.
Klindworth has a criminal history spanning 18 years, which led to a sentencing range between five and seven years.
But prosecutors and his defense attorney, Dennis Hanson, recommended the four-year sentence because he was suffering a mental health crisis at the time.
Petersen followed the recommendation.
Klindworth will also be responsible for paying restitution to the organizations affected by his crimes. The amount will be set later.
The evaluator Greg Hupp diagnosed Klindworth with an unspecified mood disorder and methamphetamine use disorder during a 2023 evaluation. .
Hupp noted Klindworth had been seen by state psychologists in 2015, 2017 and 2022. They have offered a variety of opinions ranging from not having any mental health issues to having symptoms related to his drug use.
Klindworth has a history of methamphetamine and alcohol use that started in his early teens, according to the evaluation.
Arson and burglary
Pasco police were initially called to the former Bank of America building on Lewis Street on July 27 after someone spotted a bald man trying to light a fire.
Inside, they found a burn mark and ash near an old teller’s desk and the smell of smoke.
A security guard told investigators that he saw Klindworth break a window in a nearby business and tried to light a curtain on fire.
He also broke into the Atomic Foods on Fourth Avenue, damaged items in the store and broke the cash register.
Klindworth was also seen running out of the basement of the Apostolic Lutheran Church of Tri-Cities after starting a fire in the building.
As he was running away, he told witnesses that people were still inside. Pasco firefighters on the scene searched the burning church, but didn’t find anyone inside.
Officers surrounded the area, and one found Klindworth walking onto West Agate Street with blood and soot on his shirt. When the officer tried to stop him, Klindworth ran.
Police used a Taser to stop Klindworth about a block away from the scene.
Once the fire was put out, they found a message written in blood on the outside of the building that said , “Pasco PD put me in a coma for seven days Seth K.”
There is nothing in his history that says he was in a coma.
They also discovered that he started two fires in the sanctuary by setting a pile of Bibles on fire.
The fire has forced the church to move its services to a different location.
Drugs and mental health
After being arrested, Klindworth was evaluated by a state psychologist to determine if he was able to understand the proceedings and was able to help his attorney.
Klindworth was able to explain the court process and the charges that he was facing. He did report having symptoms of bipolar disorder.
He told the evaluator that he began using marijuana when he was 12, drinking when he was 15 and tried meth and cocaine when we he was 17.
“When asked about any other drug use, Mr. Klindworth reported back in 2012 that he had used ‘all of them,’” the evaluator said.
Records said he has struggled with methamphetamine and alcohol throughout the years.
He also reported that he has heard voices, suffered from anxiety and paranoia. He had been prescribed anti-psychotics and other medication over the course of the last 12 years.