Transient set dumpster fire to go back to jail, document states

A man was arrested for allegedly setting fire to a dumpster early Sunday morning so that he could go back to jail.

A Vancouver police officer found a burning recycling dumpster at Columbia Street and West Evergreen Boulevard just after 2 a.m. Sunday, according to court documents.

The officer saw a man, later identified as 37-year-old transient Larry Jeffrey Statham, standing in front of the burning dumpster, the documents stated.

“Statham said that he started the fire because he wanted to go back to jail,” the document stated.

He was arrested on suspicion of third-degree malicious mischief, which carries a sentence of up to 364 days in jail. Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said that Statham is not believed to be connected to the string of 15 arsons last month that damaged trash cans, fences, flags and other items in the Shumway, Lincoln, Carter Park and Hough neighborhoods.

The dumpster, owned by Waste Connections, sustained less than $750 in damage, according to the document. Statham was released from jail on Monday.