Crime & Safety
Former Parks Worker Gets Three Years in Jail for Arson
John Michael Townsend pleaded guilty to setting fires on park property.
A former parks security officer who set fires to houses on parks property will spend the next three years in prison.
John Michael Townsend pleaded guilty to five counts of arson in Washington County Court on Thursday.
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He had been arrested in December on charges he set five fires between April 22, 2015 and May 20, 2015 at two different houses on park property in the Cedar Mill community.
Townsend used road flares to set the fires.
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After setting the fires, he would return to the scene, letting people think he was a hero.
A security guard with the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District, Townsend has been suspended without pay since his arrest.
He will also have to pay $8,594 in restitution.
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