McAlester man sentenced to federal prison for arson
May 19—A McAlester man was sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to starting a fire at a Hartshorne residence in 2021.
Dalyn Ray Lane Johnson, 24, was sentenced to 39 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to arson in Indian Country along with three years of supervised released and mandatory alcohol, narcotic, and mental health treatments.
Court records show federal guidelines calculated Johnson's sentence to fall between 37 to 46 months imprisonment.
"On or about May 1, 2021, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Indian Country, I willfully and maliciously set fire to and burned a building," Johnson's plea agreement signed in March 2022 states. "At the time, I knew that the building was being used as a dwelling."
Johnson was arrested in Michigan on a federal warrant for the indictment on Oct. 21, 2021, after attempting to evade prosecution.
An affidavit filed in the case states the Hartshorne Fire and Police Departments were dispatched to a residence on the 800 block of Carbon Ave. on May 1, 2021 for a structure fire.
The owner of the home told investigators he had multiple arguments with Johnson leading up to the night of the fire and that Johnson threatened to burn down the house the day before the fire, the affidavit states.
A resident of the home also told investigators Johnson was unhappy their relationship ended and "consistently came to the residence to fight and make verbal threats of further violence," the report states.
According to the affidavit, investigators spoke with a woman who said Johnson asked her to go to the residence with him at 1 a.m. on May 1, 2021, to fight the owner of the home with the woman declining. The woman told the investigators Johnson came back to her residence at approximately 1:40 a.m. teing her that "he had just set a fire."
"He found the back door of the residence open but was unsure if anyone was home or was able to make it out of the residence after he set the fire," the woman told investigators.
The woman told investigators she had taken Johnson to a gas station in Hartshorne "three of four days before the fire" and Johnson told her he was going to use the gasoline "to start a fire" and was going to burn down a residence, the report states.
Video obtained from the gas station showed Johnson purchasing gasoline, the affidavit states.
The Oklahoma State Fire Marshal determined the cause of the fire was arson, the report stated.
"Arson can sometimes be a difficult crime to prosecute," said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson in a press release. "Our law enforcement partners did an excellent job of gathering evidence and tracking down the defendant hundreds of miles from the crime scene."
Resident Agent in Charge of the ATF Tulsa Field Office said Johnson's conviction came from a team effort.
"Johnson's arrest and conviction for arson was a team effort that resulted in a serious violent crime being solved and the perpetrator held accountable," Stephens said in a press release. "ATF is committed to working with our state, local and tribal partners to tirelessly combat violent crime in eastern Oklahoma."
