Joshua Lee Kent, the Irrigon man who got his car stuck in the sand after a fire-starting spree along Highway 18 and Tower Road last year, will be spending at least 54 months in prison for his crimes.

Kent, 22, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree attempted arson and one count of driving under the influence of intoxicants in Morrow County Circuit Court last week. Judge Christopher Brauer sentenced him to 18 months of prison on each count of arson. Kent will also serve a year for the DUII charge, to run concurrent with the other counts.

Officials arrested Kent and another man, Jonathon Michael Parrish, 22, a year ago after they set at least six fires along Highway 19 between Fossil and Arlington, burning more than 400 acres of sagebrush and grazing land. Three homes near the highway would have burned if not for the intervention of firefighters and, in one case, a homeowner who fought the fire himself.

Kent and Parrish apparently drove north from Fossil, starting fires along the way. When they got to Arlington, they drove east on Interstate 84, stopping at Highway 74 to start yet another fire.

At 9 p.m. that evening, the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a man whose car was stuck in sand just off Tower Road. The man had called 9-1-1, saying that a fire was burning near him and he feared it was getting closer.

When the deputy arrived, he found Kent and a white Oldsmobile sedan. Footprints in the sand near the origin of the fire led to the car, and Kent smelled of alcohol. Deputies arrested Kent for DUII and, after questioning, arson, criminal mischief, criminal trespass and recklessly endangering another. The next day, deputies found Parrish in Irrigon and, charged him with the same offenses, except for DUII.?

Investigators later determined that Kent was the leader of the two men. Parrish pled guilty to the lesser charges of second-degree arson and recklessly endangering another. A judge sentenced him to nine months in jail, two years probation and a $2,300 fine.

As part of his defense, Kent claimed that statements he made to officers after his arrest should be suppressed because he was under the influence of intoxicants at the time, and they were therefore involuntary. After hearing arguments from Parrish’s lawyer and Morrow County District Attorney Elizabeth Ballard, the judge did not agree.

Kent will face another set of arson charges Friday in Gilliam County Circuit Court.