A man was sentenced Tuesday, March 29, to eight years in prison for setting fire to a home and a house under construction in Monrovia three years ago. But he will not serve time because the judge suspended the sentence.
Ryan Dhalliwal, 28, was also sentenced to two years probation and must register as an arson offender, said Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
In addition, he said the judge ordered Dhalliwal to stay away from all the locations named in the criminal complaint. A restitution of over $100,000 has already been paid, he added.
Dhalliwal took a deal in the case, Santiago said. The prosecutor had no objection to the suspended sentence.
Dhalliwal pleaded no contest on April 23, 2021 to arson of a house in the 800 block of West Walnut Ave. and arson of a structure, in this case a house under construction in the 700 block of West Colorado Boulevard, authorities said. Both fires occurred on or about March 6, 2019.
The DA’s Office originally charged Dhalliwal with six counts of arson of an inhabited structure or property, two counts of arson of someone else’s property, two counts of arson of a structure or forest land and three counts of vandalism with under $400 damage.
He was accused of setting fires to homes, a rope ladder, a porch decor, etc between March 5 and 6, 2019. He was living in Monrovia when the fires happened.
Dhalliwal was arrested days after he allegedly set fire to a Little Free Library kiosk at 790 West Chestnut Ave. on March 5, 2019.
On the vandalism charges, the prosecutor alleged that Dhalliwal scrawled graffiti on two BMWs and a Dodge on or about July 5, 2019 for the benefit and at the direction of a gang.
Dhalliwal has moved out of the area, Santiago said.