OREGON CITY, Ore. -- The victim in a violent gas and fire attack spoke out Tuesday, just hours before his attacker was sentenced to prison.
Scott Ranstrom, a Vietnam veteran, has spent the past year recovering, after a total stranger walked into a Denny's Restaurant in Happy Valley and set him on fire in April 2017.
"It’s been a year in recovery and I’ve had to learn everything over again and I mean everything, from walking to talking to swallowing," said Ranstrom.
DeShaun Swanger was charged in the arson attack, and his mental competency was checked more than once in the past year. When he was found fit to stand trial, Swanger pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated murder, assault and harassment.
Swanger was sentenced to 10 years in prison after working out a plea deal. Clackamas County prosecutors agreed to the deal, but Ranstrom thinks the punishment does not match the crime.
"Is that all they do, give him 10 years in jail?" Ranstrom asked. "It would tear me up for me to be alive and have him do this to somebody or kid or young lady. I don’t know it’s just not right."