This photo from The Dalles Police Department shows the remnants of flame and the damage done to the slide at Tree Top Play Park when it was destroyed by fire early Sunday.
This photo from The Dalles Police Department shows the remnants of flame and the damage done to the slide at Tree Top Play Park when it was destroyed by fire early Sunday.
The older of two teens who admitted setting fire to the slide at Sorosis Park earlier this year was sentenced Monday to two years of supervised probation.
Aaron Ray Haberman, 18, and his 15-year-old co-defendant were both jointly ordered to pay the North Wasco County Parks and Recreation District $7,500 in restitution.
Haberman pleaded guilty to second-degree arson, a Class C felony. He was not sentenced to any jail time, but was given credit for the day of jail time he served when he was first arrested.
It is the policy of the Chronicle to not name juvenile defendants unless it is a violent crime. The juvenile was sentenced in May and received the same sentence as Haberman.
The plastic slide at Tree Top Play Park was burned in February with a fire-starting gel, and Haberman was arrested about a week later.
The 15-year-old was arrested a few days after that.
In Haberman’s sentencing, it stated that if the parks district is agreeable, he may work off part of the restitution.
A call to the parks district was not returned by press time.
Haberman earlier wrote a letter of apology to the community, saying, “I understand it was wrong and I wasn’t thinking. I let my anger get ahold of me and I took it out badly.”
He said he hoped his hours of community service will help pay off some of his debt and that everyone will forgive him.
He concluded, “I have a lot of wonderful childhood memories from that park and I’m mad at myself for doing such a terrible thing.” He was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation that includes a firestarter component.
Charges of first-degree criminal mischief and reckless burning were dismissed.
The slide was replaced in May.
Wasco County Chief Deputy District Attorney Leslie Wolf said of the sentence, “It accounted for the damage that was done to the play structure.
“He will be supervised and there is a component for giving back to the community in that he will do community service.”
She added, “Thankfully there wasn’t further damage based on the quick response of Officer [Brent] Larson and Officer [Josh] Jones of The Dalles Police Department and concerned citizens who called 911 right away.”
The case unfolded in a fairly unusual way, Wolf said, in that a number of tips were received from the community.
“It was evident during the investigation that the community was outraged because of the significance of this park to our community, and therefore the community was very active in the investigation,” she said.
“We’d like to recognize those that came forward and provided information to help resolve this crime and we’re grateful that the offenders took accountability for what they did,” Wolf said.
She also lauded the parks district for quickly replacing the slide.
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