By Conrad Dudderar
Associate Editor
EL RENO – A Yukon man faces up to 42 years in prison after being formally charged with breaking into an apartment and setting the unit ablaze.
Landon Anthony Proudfit, 35, was charged Dec. 5 in Canadian County District Court with first-degree arson and second-degree burglary.
The felony charges stem from an incident that occurred Nov. 13 at Cedar Creek Apartments, 404 S 2nd. Yukon Police investigated the crimes.
Canadian County prosecutors allege Proudfit “willfully and maliciously” set fire to the inside of the apartment building “knowing it was at that time occupied by multiple other persons.”
The defendant broke into the apartment “with the intent to steal”, according to court documents.
First-degree arson is punishable by up to 35 years in prison and/or a maximum $25,000 fine. Second-degree burglary is punishable by up to seven years in prison.
Proudfit appeared at an initial court arraignment before Special Judge Khristan Strubhar, who set bond at $25,000 on count one and $5,000 on count two.
A preliminary hearing conference is set for 9 a.m. Jan. 27 before Judge Strubhar.
CHANGED STORY
Proudfit initially told Yukon police investigators that the tenants had asked him to set the apartment on fire to claim insurance money and had given him several items, according to a Yukon police report.
Proudfit reportedly stayed in a nearby unit at Cedar Creek Apartments. The victims reportedly identified a grill, side table and Christmas tree found in that unit as theirs.
The defendant changed his story several times before finally admitting to burglarizing and setting fire to the apartment, the police report indicates.
Proudfit also was charged Dec. 5 with public intoxication, a misdemeanor, in a separate case investigated by the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office.
The defendant was convicted in June 2015 in Oklahoma County District Court with possession of controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia. He received a four-year suspended sentence in that felony case.
Proudfit was convicted in February 2013 in Canadian County District Court with driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, possession of controlled dangerous substance and possession of paraphernalia in another Yukon Police case.
He was charged in December 2017 with larceny of controlled dangerous substance after his arrest by Yukon Police. The felony charge was dismissed with costs in May 2018, court records show.
