A Montana man was sentenced to two years Tuesday for his role in the torching of a Ballantine home in order to defraud the homeowner’s insurers.
Joshua Levi Dolan, 45, was sentenced in Yellowstone County District Court after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal mischief, a felony. Two other people, including the homeowner, have pleaded not guilty to charges of soliciting arson and setting the house on fire.
In August 2016, volunteer fire departments from Worden and Shepherd responded to a blaze that destroyed a house, garage and shed in Ballantine. Following an investigation, charges were filed against Jimmie Richard James, who was serving a four-year sentence in a Colorado prison for meth trafficking.
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According to charging documents, James contacted his girlfriend from prison back in Montana, and offered her $5,000 to burn down his home.
The insurance payout for the destruction of the property, which totaled to $168,000, would go toward a $164,000 forfeiture to the federal government for the meth trafficking conviction in 2016. Authorities found James, a man in his 70s, guilty of selling several pounds of meth a year over a span of eight years. The forfeiture, as part of his sentencing, would come from the sale of his house.
As part of a plea agreement filed March 31, 2020, Dolan stated in writing that he drove Felipa Ramirez to a Walmart, “where she purchased paint thiner [sic] and a sprayer, which I knew would be used to commit arson.”
After dropping off Ramirez, he wrote, Dolan did not try to stop her from burning down James’ house or tell authorities about the arson.
Dolan, who has convictions in Musselshell, Silver Bow and Yellowstone counties for possession, burglary and assault, initially denied the charges, saying that he didn’t learn about Ramirez’s intentions until after she set the house on fire.
The two-year sentence, issued by District Judge Jessica Fehr, will run concurrent with Dolan’s prior sentencing to four years in the Montana Department of Corrections for violating parole and failing to register as a violent offender. According to sentencing documents, the court has recommended that Dolan be eligible for pre-release.
Both James and Ramirez will have their next day in court in February 2021. In June of this year, the court approved a joinder of their cases, hearing both Ramirez’s charge of arson and James’ charge of soliciting that arson on the same date and docket.
According to terms of his plea agreement, the court will not seek restitution for the destruction in the fire against Dolan.