The wife of a Xenia firefighter was sentenced to 30 days in county jail and five years of community control after being found guilty of arson at a daycare where she worked.
Erika VanDyne, 36, also was ordered to register as an arson offender, pay restitution of $2,790.39, undergo a mental health evaluation, submit to drug testing plus pay court costs and supervision fees of $50 per month.
VanDyne, the wife of Xenia firefighter Josh VanDyne, didn’t speak Friday in Greene County Common Pleas Court when given the chance by Judge Stephen Wolaver. She must report to the Greene County Jail by 9 a.m. Feb. 19.
VanDyne was found guilty of misdemeanor arson and tampering with evidence after pleading no contest in November. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped more serious charges of aggravated arson and inducing panic.
There was no victim impact statement and neither prosecutor David Hayes nor defense attorney Jay Adams commented after sentencing. Wolaver said that if VanDyne violated her probation, she could face six 36 months in prison on the tampering with evidence charge and six months on the misdemeanor arson count.
Xenia firefighters and police were called to a fire at 9 a.m. March 3, 2015, at the KinderCare Learning Center, 2025 Bellbrook Ave.
A Xenia police report stated, “Upon arrival there was smoke in the building and a cardboard box smoldering in a supply closet. We quickly extinguished the fire and evacuated the building.”
The building was evacuated after a small fire occurred in the facility’s storage room, according to Xenia Fire Chief Kenneth Riggsby. KinderCare was closed while the building was cleaned and ventilated. Riggsby said employees used an extinguisher to put the fire out, and everyone got out OK prior to crews arriving on scene.
Greene County Prosecutor Stephen Haller said the evidence led investigators to believe VanDyne, who was a preschool teacher at the time of the fire, was the suspect.
“One of the counts is tampering with evidence. It’s the state’s allegation that she actually created a document, a note, to mislead the investigators. To point them in a whole different direction,” Haller said last year. “It was discovered that there was a small fire in a utility room. Based upon the investigation by the police and our investigators, it was determined that it was of human origin,” Haller said.
Riggsby said VanDyne’s husband, who has been with that department since 2004, was not involved in the investigation against his wife.