Federal judge sentences Wichita man to prison for setting fire to apartment

WICHITA, KAN. - A Kansas man was sentenced to 77 months in prison for maliciously setting a fire that damaged an apartment building where families lived.

According to court documents, Skyler D. Imel, 31, of Wichita, pleaded guilty to one count of arson.

In March 2023, Imel intentionally damaged an apartment complex on West Central Avenue in Wichita by setting a fire inside the bedroom of a vacant unit. Before starting the fire, Imel used a red Sharpie to write, "Sam apparment 2502 is geting killed" on the bedroom wall, and he disabled a smoke alarm. Imel attempted to set a second fire at apartment No. 2502 by throwing a Molotov Cocktail at the front entryway. That apartment was occupied at the time.

"There were families living in the apartment complex so this incident could have easily turned into a horrific tragedy," said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. "The fact that the defendant disabled the smoke detector indicates he wanted the fire to have time to spread before it was likely to be noticed, increasing the danger to the building's residents."

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ola Odeyemi prosecuted the case.

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