SPOKANE, Wash. — Nearly two months after she was arrested for burglarizing an evacuated Medical Lake home, 37-year-old Diane Guerrero is out of jail and giving her side of the story, as her former partner remains behind bars.
“I’m just going to try and do better from here on out,” Guerrero said.
On August 21, Guerrero and 38-year-old Matthew Parsons were arrested by Spokane Police for driving through evacuated neighborhoods in Medical Lake, looting the homes that were left behind as the Gray Fire tore through the area, destroying homes and lives.
On Aug. 30, NonStop Local’s Ava Wainhouse spoke with Parsons as he sat behind bars; Guerrero declined to comment. But now, her feelings have changed.
“I didn’t expect all of this to happen, it’s like everything that could have gone wrong did,” Guerrero said.
On Oct. 11, Guerrero pleaded guilty to two charges of second-degree burglary. She was sentenced to serve 51 days concurrently for the crimes, yet at the time of entering her plea deal, Guerrero had already served 51 days, so she was released from the Spokane County Jail.
Now, she is back home in Tacoma with her two kids. Guerrero told NonStop Local that she wanted to find closure by sharing her side of what happened that day in August.
“I was going through some things, and I wasn’t thinking clearly,” she said. “I did admit to my wrongs, I took responsibility from the beginning for the things that I did.”
Guerrero stole an amazon package from someone’s house, yet she denies ever going inside any of the evacuated homes.
“I’m not proud of my actions,” she said.
When asked if she felt guilty for what she did, and if she felt for the people of Medical Lake who lost everything this summer, Guerrero said yes.
“I certainly do, I didn’t know the gravity of the situation, I just knew that we were headed toward the fires,” Guerrero said.
The woman said her former partner, Parsons, who she dated for two years before they were arrested in Spokane, took her down a dark path she had trouble walking away from. She has struggled with addiction in the past but plans to get clean.
“I do plan on entering into an intensive treatment program on Thursday, just trying to pick up the pieces and put my life back together,” she said.
When Parsons was interviewed on Aug. 30, he said he had no intention of stealing anything in Medical Lake, though he let Guerrero take the amazon package.
“She obviously had other things up her sleeve,” Parsons said.
After watching NonStop Local’s segment with Parsons, Guerrero said she felt as if her ex had thrown her under the bus.
“It felt like betrayal, we weren’t good together and I knew it wasn’t a good idea for us to be together for a while,” Guerrero said.
Now, Guerrero said she wants to make the effort to turn her life around, cutting ties with crime, addiction, and Parsons.
“I think that God has a plan for me, and I think that there are reasons for everything,” she said. “Sometimes things have to fall apart to be put back together correctly.”
As for Parsons, he remains in the Spokane County Jail – his trial is set to begin in November.
