Former chief sentenced for attempted child rape

By Terry Murry on Monday, March 22nd, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

KENNEWICK – Otis Garbe, 57, the former fire chief for Walla Walla County Fire District No. 6, has been sentenced to almost five years in prison for second-degree attempted child rape. He had entered a guilty plea to that charge last month.

The sentence was handed down in Benton County Superior Court last week. Court records indicate he will also have to pay $600 in fees and must register as a sex offender once he is released. In exchange for the guilty plea, the state dropped a charge of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.

Garbe was caught in a police sting in August 2020 after communicating with who he thought was a 13-year-old girl. He showed up at an address in the Tri-Cities expecting to meet that girl and that was when he was taken into custody.

Walla Walla County Fire District No. 6 is currently searching for a new chief.