Stange sentenced to 55 years for Pringle fires

A Pringle man was sentenced to 55 years in prison last Thursday afternoon for starting a series of fires in the Pringle area late last summer.
Jerimiah James Stange, 32, received the maximum sentence agreed upon by both the state and the defense after Stange agreed to plead guilty but mentally ill to all nine charges he faced for the arson spree.
Stange was charged with six counts of Reckless Burning or Exploding, a Class 4 felony, two counts of Second Degree Arson, a Class 4 felony, and one count of First Degree Arson, a Class 2 felony. The more serious counts are for the structure fires Stange admitted to starting.
The plea agreement was spurred in part by the fact that Stange was found to be mentally ill during the series of a pre-sentence investigation that included a mental evaluation. Stange also agreed to pay $154,489 in restituion and possibly additional costs if the state requests, although Seventh Judicial Circuit Court Judge Heidi Linngren said it’s likely Stange will never pay any of said restitution.
In asking for the maximum agreed-upon sentence, Custer County state’s attorney Tracy Kelley said Stange’s history, which includes six prior felonies for drugs and theft, paints a picture of someone who has no regard for other people or their property.
Kelley said the pre-sentence investigation report revealed Stange felt he should receive leniency because the fires he set did not hurt anyone, which she challenged.
“He did hurt people,” she said. “His actions destroyed the property of others.”
Kelley said the fires also put firefighters in danger each time they had to respond to a blaze, and that the community was held captive with fear wondering when the next fire would happen.
Kelley said Stange also put his children in danger, pointing out he both took his childen with him when he started fires and left them home alone to go start fires. She pointed out he set a fire near his own home to try to deflect suspcion away from himself.
Stange is a danger to the public, Kelley said, saying his fires were intentional, malicious acts, and Stange admitted he hoped for larger scale destruction. She said the presentence investigation shows Stange has no remorse for the fires.
“I am asking for this court to give him every bit of that 55 years,” she said.
Stange’s defense attorney, Kyle Beauchamp, said based on his client’s actions he is extremely lucky nobody was hurt.
“I think it’s incredibly lucky we are not here on more serious charges,” he said.
Beauchamp asked for mercy from the court for Stange, showing the mental evaluation conducted on Stange showed he was mentally ill at the time he was setting the fires.
“Almost every conversation I’ve had with him is him accepting responsibility,” Beauchamp said, adding Stange wanted to move forward with accepting responsibility more quickly, but Beauchamp insisted on the mental health evaluation.
Beauchamp said Stange had a bad childhood that included physical abuse. His childhood eventually led to his turning to meth, alcohol and marijuana.
Beauchamp said Stange will get the help he needs in the state penitentiary (because of the mental illness diagnosis/plea the state is required to treat him for that illness) and hopes to some day get out of prison, take care of his family and work to pay off the restituion he owes.
“I know Mr. Stange is incredibly sorry,” Beauchamp said.
When he was offered the chance to speak, Stange declined.
“I would like to not speak,” he said.
Before handing down her sentence, Linngren acknowledged there was nothing she could do to replace what the victims of the fires lost, and acknowledged Stange’s rough childhood. However, she said, he was an adult who made deliberate choices when he was setting the fires.
“You were a functioning member of society at the time,” she said.
Linngren said when Stange first started setting the fires he did so with the intention to harm people, and said it is her responsibility to make sure he is never in the position to harm someone.
There may be a reason or explanation for his actions, she said, but there is no justification. She said she doesn’t believe Stange has a handle on how serious his actions were.
Upon receiving his 55 years, which will run consecutively, Stange, who was in a Pennington County Jail uniform and shackles, was led out of the courtroom. He will recieve credit for the 330 days he has served in jail. The state has a formula for parole dates that varies depending on the level of felony and previous record, but Stange likely will not be eligible for parole until he is in his 60s. Stange faced over 100 years in prison prior to the plea agreement.
South Dakota’s Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and the Custer County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation. Other assisting agencies were the DCI Forensic Lab, U.S. Forest Service, the State Fire Marshal’s Office and State Wildland Fire