A man accused of arson after authorities say he caused a major wildfire near Spokane, Washington, was convicted of manslaughter in Arizona after he fatally shot his father at their Mesa home in 2010.
Aaron F. Farinacci, now 37, was arrested on Oct. 11, 2010, after he got into an argument with his father over Farinacci not washing the dishes properly, according to court documents.
Farinacci then locked himself inside a bedroom and retrieved a .22-caliber handgun. When his father unlocked the door and entered the bedroom, Farinacci shot his father in the face before shooting him again in the back when his father tried to flee, documents said.
His father died of his injuries.
Farinacci then fled from the residence on foot before shooting himself in the chest.
He told police after he was arrested that he was aiming for his heart rather than his head, as his father was still able to move around after being shot in the face.
A grand jury indicted Farinacci on first-degree murder and aggravated assault charges. Farinacci pleaded guilty to manslaughter and aggravated assault on Oct. 12, 2012 — one day after the two-year anniversary of his father's death, according to court records. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the manslaughter charge and three years' probation for the aggravated assault charge, records show.
He was released from prison on Dec. 23, 2020, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry.
Farinacci, now a Spokane resident, was arrested on a single charge of first-degree arson related to the Old Trails Fire, which sprang up on Saturday alongside two other major fires, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said at a news conference Aug. 3.
Major wildfires are devastating the eastern part of Washington, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing tens of thousands to flee.
Farinacci had been contacted in connection with earlier fires, police say
The man accused of starting the Spokane fire had been contacted by law enforcement in connection with two other fire incidents, according to charging documents obtained by USA TODAY.
Investigators said Farinacci was contacted by officers with the Spokane Police Department during an arson/fire call on July 8, 2025. The charging documents provide no more information about the incident or why Farinacci was contacted.
About a month later, Farinacci came into contact with law enforcement again. Washington State Patrol officers were "pursuing a possible suspect in [a] fire" on Aug. 11, 2025 when they encountered Farinacci "on a park bench seemingly out of breath possibly from running."
Farinacci was photographed that day wearing the same shirt he had on when investigators stopped him on Aug. 1 about a mile away from the area where the fire broke out, court documents say.
A sheriff's deputy told Farinacci, who was allegedly carrying cigarettes, a lighter and waterproof matches, that three witnesses had spotted him near the fire. Farinacci said the witnesses "don't know 'the whole thing,'" denied starting the fire and was released.
Includes information from USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arson suspect in Washington wildfire previously killed his father in Arizona
