Man Sentenced for Arson, Wrongful Disposal of Property
A man charged with multiple felonies relating to arson and burglary was sentenced for two separate dockets in Albany County District Court Monday, July 9.
Albany County District Court Judge Tori Kricken sentenced Lonny Dumesnil to three to five years in prison for felony wrongful disposal of property and three to seven years in prison for 3rd degree arson, to run concurrently.
The sentence was part of a plea deal where Dumesnil pleaded no contest to wrongful disposal of property and arson, in exchange, three other charges of burglary, attempt to commit burglary and possession of burglar’s tools were dismissed.
Dumesnil was arrested in June 2017, after being recorded on a surveillance camera setting fire to an construction excavator in the area of North 3rd Street and East Harney Street, using gas torch. Officers with the Laramie Police Department interviewed the manager at Bloedorn Lumber to see if a man matching the description of the man on the surveillance video had purchased a gas torch there. The manager said he had seen a man matching that description acting suspiciously in his store, court documents state.
A short while later, the LPD was notified of an attempted burglary at Mister Money Pawn Shop. While police determined that no one gained access to the shop, the back doors to the business were substantially damaged and the electrical power breaker box had been opened.
LPD later received a call from a trooper with the Wyoming Highway Patrol that they may have located the suspect in the crimes, and that he was currently in custody at the Albany County Detention Center for being in possession of a stolen vehicle from Greeley, CO. Troopers had found the man, Dumesnil, sleeping in a pickup truck outside of Laramie. The owner of the vehicle out of Greeley was contacted and he gave permission to search the vehicle.
A number of items associated with arson were found, including multiple gas bottles, one with the torch attached. Items associated with burglary were also found, including a crowbar, screwdrivers, ski masks and a lock pick set.
Dumesnil’s lawyer David Quinn said during the sentencing that Dumesnil was “rocked” by mental illness, under the influence of which Dumesnil committed the string of crimes. He said Dumesnil was a doing much better than he had a year before.
Dumesnil said in a statement that he was thinking much clearer since the incidents and that he was now on the appropriate medication. He apologized to the court and to the community and said that he wanted to walk “the straight and narrow.”
“Never again will I be here in chains,” Dumesnil said.
Kricken called Dumesnil’s crimes “disturbing” and said that it was evident that Dumesnil wasn’t thinking clearly at the time. She said that it was a good thing that as a result of his time at the Albany County Detention Center, he was now on the proper medication.
Kricken said that she would accept the plea deal and would be running the bottom number for each case, and have both the sentences run concurrently. Kricken said that she would impose restitution, despite the fact that Quinn said his client had an inability to pay.
“The court will not set aside restitution,” Kricken said. “The victims need to be compensated.”
Dumesnil owes $1,000 in restitution to Mechanical Systems Incorporated, over $200 to Mister Money Pawn Shop and over $3,000 to the City of Greeley.