Arsonist sentenced to 21 months for Garland blaze that nearly killed woman

Lindi Hobbs saw flames coming into the front door of her Garland Neighborhood apartment the morning of March 23, 2023. She went down the hall to see if she could escape out the small bathroom window, but a set of flames met her instead.

Hobbs, now 65, dove into the bathroom and was trapped, waiting for someone to save her. Firefighters eventually pulled her from the home at 3910 N. Wall St.

Her life was saved, but the physical and mental damage had been done.

Hobbs was hospitalized and placed on life support with burned lungs. She said she has post-traumatic stress disorder from the fire she thought would kill her.

Meanwhile, she lost three cats and several meaningful items in the fire.

On Wednesday, Hobbs fought back tears, explaining that trauma to Spokane County Superior Court Judge Raymond Clary, who then sentenced the arsonist, 38-year-old Jenny Barden, to 21 months behind bars, which is how long she’s been in the Spokane County Jail.

She will be given credit for time served and released soon.

Barden pleaded guilty to first-degree arson Wednesday in exchange for an attempted murder charge and six counts of first-degree assault to be dropped.

The 21-month sentence was the low end of the standard sentence range and the recommended sentence by the defense and prosecution.

Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Anastasiya Krotoff and Barden’s attorney, Benjamin Hartnett, said “evidentiary issues” could have affected the case at trial.

“This was a difficult agreement to reach,” Krotoff said.

Barden, wearing gray Spokane County Jail clothing, apologized to the victims. Hobbs was the only one in court Wednesday.

“I’m still in shock over the whole situation,” Barden said.

Other apartment residents, including Heather Hall and her 3-month -old son, were inside the five-unit building when the fire started.

In a victim impact statement read Wednesday on behalf of Hall, she wrote that her family has struggled financially to rebuild their lives, and they only recently moved into a new apartment.

Hall and Hobbs asked that Barden face the attempted murder and assault charges. Hobbs told The Spokesman-Review after the hearing that she didn’t believe in the legal system anymore because of the plea negotiation.

According to court documents, one of the residents told police he saw Barden outside Hobbs’ unit and heard her say that Hobbs should not have “snitched” on her. The resident reported seeing Barden toss an incendiary device, later identified by investigators as a Molotov cocktail, at the door, setting the building on fire.

Hobbs told The Spokesman-Review she didn’t see Barden throw the Molotov cocktail but saw her standing by a dumpster after the fire started.

Hobbs said a group of homeless people would enter the apartment building’s basement, hang out and do drugs in the days leading up to the fire. The people would also steal items, including bicycles, from the property and other places and bring them into the basement.

Hobbs planned to file a restraining order against one of the homeless people because she and her neighbors did not feel safe after the break-ins. Shortly after the homeless man found out about Hobbs’ restraining order plans, the building was set on fire. She said the man convinced Barden to set the fire.

Hartnett said the man fled to Montana and no additional action was pursued.

Hobbs said her apartment was looted while she was on life support, and there were hardly any items left when she returned from treatment.

“I lost everything,” Hobbs said.

One of the cats she lost in the fire was an emotional anchor for Hobbs for 17 years. Hobbs said the cat, named Piglet, went everywhere with her and helped her depression.

“We were together for so long,” Hobbs said of Piglet. “He knew me, and I knew him.”

The fire also destroyed jewelry she made and sold online.

With her cats and jewelry gone, there’s very little that helps her therapeutically, she told the court.

“I’m trying to put my life back together again,” Hobbs said.

Hartnett said Barden was homeless and struggling with severe addiction, which led to the arson.

Clary determined Barden’s chemical dependency contributed to the crime and ordered Barden to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and treatment.

He waived a $375,000 restitution request from the building’s insurance company, citing Barden’s indigency, a lack of forensic evidence against Barden and eyewitness disputes, among other reasons.

Restitution to the affected families is to be determined.

Clary called the matter a “complicated case of culpability” and added that it was regrettable the man who fled to Montana had not been apprehended.