PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN 6) – Two people are facing arson charges after investigators linked them to a fire in early July.
Curtis Stamps and Braden Strobel were both charged with one count each of first-degree arson and second degree arson.
The fire was reported July 3 at 3:15 a.m. in the 5800 block of Southwest Florida on reports of a detached garage fire. When fire crews arrived, they found the entire front of the garage on fire. The garage was located near the house, so fire crews began fighting the garage fire and cooling the side of the house next to the garage. The damage was estimated to be $30,000, according to Portland Fire & Rescue.
Investigators have not said how they linked Stamps and Strobel to the case.
Stamps and Strobel were charged with first-degree arson, a Ballot Measure 11 crime, because investigators say there was a threat of serious physical injury to the person inside the residence.
Stamps took a plea deal in Jan. 2016. He pled guilty to one count of first-degree arson. As part of the plea deal, the DA’s Office agreed not to charge him under the state’s Ballot Measure 11 statue.
In an email to KOIN 6 News, Stamps’ mother said, “My family is heartbroken over this.”
Stamps was sentenced to 60 months in prison. His co-defendant, Strobel, accepted a similar plea agreement and received the same sentence.