Man sentenced to probation for setting multiple fires near I-70

MOAB — A man who set several grass fires near the Utah-Colorado border on I-70 this summer will be spending time on probation after being found guilty of arson.

Randy Alan Toney, 43, was charged with eight counts of arson that endangers human life, a third-degree felony, and a jury found him guilty on each charge on Sept. 8.

Seventh District Judge Don Torgerson sentenced him on Oct. 20 to zero to five years in prison for each of the five charges, but suspended those prison sentences — instead ordering him to spend three years on probation. If the prison sentences are imposed later, he said they would be served concurrently with each other, but consecutively to any sentences in potential future cases.

Toney was released from jail on Oct. 21 after spending about four months there.

During probation, he was ordered to not use or possess any alcohol or drugs, including spice or cannabinoid constituents.

Torgerson said there would be no court-ordered restitution in the case.

Charging documents said Grand County fire crews responded to a call of a grass fire near I-70. They extinguished four fires and then two more about a mile away in the median.

A trooper said he was told a 911 caller had reported seeing a man hiding in the weeds near an overpass. While he was responding, he saw a man running along the shoulder of the freeway.

Charges said Toney's pants were "actively smoking." They said he was homeless and traveling to Salt Lake City on foot.

According to the charges, there were a total of nine fires set, but no report of structures damaged or people injured.