Suspected Old Trails arsonist Aaron Farinacci contacted over Spokane fires last year, court docs say

The man suspected of setting a fire that destroyed hundreds of Spokane homes and forced thousands to evacuate was contacted by law enforcement last summer for two Spokane fires but never arrested, according to court documents.

Detectives believe Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, was wearing the same green shirt, which says “Who needs luck, I have charm,” at one of last summer’s fires and the wind-driven fire started Saturday on the West Plains that rapidly moved east , ravaging neighborhoods.

Law enforcement contacted Farinacci shortly after the fire started Saturday and then released him without charges. They later developed probable cause to arrest Farinacci on suspicion of first-degree arson and booked him Monday night into the Spokane County Jail on a $1 million bond.

Farinacci made his first appearance Tuesday afternoon in Spokane County Superior Court, where Judge Tony Hazel maintained his $1 million bond, which is the amount Spokane County Prosecutor Preston McCollam requested. 

McCollam said Farinacci “poses a danger to the community,” given the nature of the charge. 

Colin Charbonneau, director of the Spokane County Public Defender’s Office, reserved argument with respect to probable cause, bond and release conditions. 

A man at a Newman Lake address associated with a relative of Farinacci watched Tuesday’s court proceedings. The man declined to speak with The Spokesman-Review Monday night in Newman Lake after news broke of Farinacci’s arrest. 

Marc Titus, a Washington State Department of Natural Resources fire investigator, wrote in court documents he was aware that a man with a similar description to Farinacci was contacted by investigators in connection to a fire on Aug. 11, 2025, in the Riverside State Park Equestrian area. 

The Spokesman-Review reported at that time a small brush fire prompted a Level 2 “be set” evacuation warning that day. Those near the horse arena and recreational vehicle park at the Riverside State Park Equestrian area were placed under Level 2 evacuations that were later canceled. 

In his investigation over the weekend, Titus shared photographs with Spokane County Sheriff’s detectives of the person who law enforcement contacted in the area of the fire last August. The photographs show a man wearing shorts and a green T-shirt with the phrase, “Who needs luck, I have charm” in white letters.

The photographs also included a picture of a Farinacci’s ID card and a BIC lighter. 

Sheriff’s Det. Michael Drapeau wrote in documents that Washington State Patrol troopers were pursuing a possible suspect in the August 2025 fire call. WSP contacted Farinacci on a park bench seemingly out of breath from possibly running. 

Drapeau recognized the man in the photos provided by Titus as Farinacci and that the shirt he was wearing last August was the same shirt he was wearing Saturday. 

Drapeau also wrote that Spokane police officers contacted Farinacci during a fire/arson call on July 8, 2025. The details of that call were not discussed in court documents.

The Old Trails fire Farinacci is accused of setting is one of three in Spokane County, together totaling over 10,000 acres. The causes of the other two fires, Autumn Lane and Fairview, are under investigation.

The Old Trails fire was reported around noon Saturday near West Euclid Road and North Old Trails Road, northeast of Airway Heights.

One witness, a 64-year-old man, told deputies he was driving with his grandson on Euclid about noon Saturday when he saw a man standing on the north side of the BNSF Railway track, which runs along Euclid, according to court records. The man he saw, later identified as Farinacci, was standing and looking into the tree line. When Farinacci noticed the approaching vehicle, Farinacci turned and looked at the driver. 

The witness and his grandson picked up a third person nearby and were returning along the same road about 10 minutes later when the driver saw the same man standing in the same spot bending over. When the man noticed the approaching vehicle again, Farinacci stood up to watch the vehicle and acted “nervous,” according to the driver. 

The driver described the man as bald and wearing a backpack and a green T-shirt. The witness continued driving the short distance to his Euclid residence.

About 10 minutes later, the driver’s daughter noticed smoke rising from the area where Farinacci had been. He said his daughter called 911 to report the fire, and he drove back down to see where the fire started. He noticed the fire was in the same area where the man had been. 

Firefighters and police responded to the scene, and the driver told an Airway Heights police officer his account. The officer broadcasted a description of the man as a white, bald man with an average build wearing a backpack. 

About 12:15 p.m., Sheriff’s Sgt. Kevin Mosher noticed a man matching the description walking more than 1 mile from the area the man was first reported. He was wearing a green T-shirt, shorts, a fanny pack and backpack. The man said he was coming from the area of Euclid and the railroad tracks. 

Mosher detained the man, who identified himself as Farinacci.

Sheriff’s Dep. Jerry Moffett, who helped detain him, said Farinacci’s green T-shirt had the phrase, “Who needs luck, I have charm” in white letters. 

Three witnesses in the vehicle driving on Euclid later identified the detained man as the same person they saw near the railroad tracks prior to the fire, according to the deputies.

Moffett told Farinacci about the witnesses identifying him. Farinacci replied those witnesses don’t know “the whole thing.” Moffett found in Farinacci’s fanny pack a pack of cigarettes, a butane lighter and a box of Gofire brand waterproof matches. The box of 25 matches had 14 inside. 

Farinacci told the deputy he bought the matches about three days before the fire broke out and he uses the matches to light his cigarette if the lighter goes out. He added that the matches were “wind proof.” 

Farinacci told Moffett he left his apartment, 2816 W. Elliott Dr., about 9 a.m. Saturday to walk the same loop he walks almost every day. The roughly 4-mile loop is up Government Way and along the train tracks, he said. Farinacci admitted walking along the tracks, but denied being in the area of the fire and starting the fire. 

The deputies released Farinacci at the scene and continued evacuating residents who were under threat of the wildfire. 

Det. Drapeau wrote that Moffett and Mosher were driving to the area to notify residents to evacuate and were not aware of the “total facts of the incident,” including the origin or source of the fire, when they contacted Farinacci.

“While they were aware Farinacci had been identified as a person seen leaving the area of the fire, they were unaware Farinacci was seen leaving the area of the fire origin,” the detective wrote. “While they were aware there was an active wildfire burning, they had no information as to the cause and circumstance of the fire origin.” 

The deputies also had no knowledge of any previous fire-related contacts with Farinacci. 

Titus reported he was responding Saturday to the fire call at Old Trails and Euclid when he saw a man walking away from the fire near Euclid and Trails Road. He stopped and talked with the man, who identified himself as Farinacci.

Farinacci told the investigator he had just been interviewed by police.

Titus determined on Sunday the fire started at the same location the witnesses saw Farinacci and the cause of the fire was consistent with an open flame to vegetation, such as would be expected by a lighter or a match. 

The investigator eliminated possible causes like train activity or electrical infrastructure. 

Farinacci’s criminal history includes a manslaughter conviction in Mesa, Arizona. According to the Phoenix News Times, the victim in Farinacci’s manslaughter case was his father. Farinacci killed him when his father asked him to do dishes, the paper reported.

Farinacci is set for an arraignment Thursday.