Man sentenced to prison for setting Las Vegas police vehicle on fire

One of three men who pleaded guilty to setting a Las Vegas police vehicle on fire during a 2020 protest was sentenced to federal prison on Wednesday.

Tyree Walker, Devarian Haynes and Ricardo Densmore pleaded guilty in March to one count of civil disorder, after initially facing arson charges.

The three were captured in a video posted to social media lighting the Metropolitan Police Department vehicle on fire near South Ninth Street and East Carson Avenue during a Black Lives Matter demonstration. A criminal complaint indicates that firefighters responded on May 31, 2020, shortly after midnight, and put out the fire.

On Wednesday, Haynes, 25, was sentenced to two years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon also ordered him to serve 100 hours of community service and pay more than $12,000 in restitution.

The judge told Haynes that the crime distracted from the legitimacy of the cause he was supporting.

“Your actions hurt the Black Lives Matter movement more than they helped it, and that’s a shame,” Gordon said.

Prosecutors have said Densmore filmed the video showing Haynes pouring a flammable liquid from a gas can through a broken or missing front passenger side window of the patrol vehicle. According to court documents, Walker set the blaze as Haynes dropped the gas can into the car, and the men ran off after hearing approaching sirens.

The car also contained ammunition that could have caused an explosion, prosecutors have said.

Haynes, who appeared in court on Wednesday through a video call from Texas, apologized for the crime and said he was willing to accept the judge’s sentence.

“I’m sorry to the court, and to my family, and to the city of Las Vegas for what I did do on that night,” he said.

Defense attorney Christopher Mishler wrote in court documents that Haynes admitted to his role in the crime when he was interviewed by investigators shortly after the protest.

Multiple peaceful protests were held in Las Vegas during the summer of 2020, in the aftermath of a Minneapolis police officer killing George Floyd while he was handcuffed in custody.

“Mr. Haynes regrets his actions and realizes that he was caught up in the outrage over police involvement in Mr. Floyd’s death,” Mishler wrote in court documents.

Mishler and federal prosecutor Lisa Cartier-Giroux declined to comment on Wednesday.

Gordon ordered Haynes, who is on house arrest, to surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service on July 22.

Densmore is set to be sentenced on July 21, and Walker is set to be sentenced on Aug. 18, court records show.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.