SPOKANE — A homeless woman accused of setting fires in the West Hills Neighborhood earlier this month because she was upset with the local housing crisis made her initial appearance Wednesday in Spokane County District Court.
Vickie L. Smith, 53, was arrested Aug. 10 in Tukwila, Washington, on suspicion of three counts of first-degree arson. She was transferred to the Spokane County Jail Tuesday to face those charges before District Court Judge Jennifer Fassbender maintained Smith’s bond at $75,000 Wednesday.
Smith remained in jail Wednesday afternoon.
The brief hearing mostly included Smith, who wore gray Spokane County Jail clothing, answering “yes” to Fassbender’s questions and saying she did not have a current address.
The Aug. 3 fires caused residents to evacuate and threatened dozens of structures, but none were burned and no injuries were reported.
Cynthia Miraglia, who lives on the Indian Canyon Golf Course, told police she saw Smith near her home that day bending down and noticed a flicker of a lighter or match.
Smith reportedly told Miraglia she was hiding there to smoke marijuana because she lived at the Catalyst Project, a nearby shelter, and would get in trouble if she was caught smoking near the shelter.
Miraglia called 911 and walked Smith out of the neighborhood.
On the walk, Smith told Miraglia she was frustrated with the Catalyst program because they didn’t feed her, among other things. The Catalyst program does offer food, according to employees.
Police linked graffiti in downtown Spokane referring to burning Spokane on Aug. 3 to Smith.
Officers reviewed surveillance video footage that showed a woman writing the graffiti on the Washington Trust Bank Building downtown, according to court documents.
Smith was confronted by police early in the morning of Aug. 4 during a trespassing investigation at another Washington Trust Bank in the Logan Neighborhood.
When police arrived, Smith asked whether she was being arrested for lighting the fires. She told officers she lit the fires to get housing after 12 years of being homeless.
Smith said the housing crisis in Spokane was unfair and demanded officers give her somewhere to live, according to court records.
Officers did not arrest her at that time, but police later matched the woman doing graffiti downtown to Miraglia’s photos and police body camera footage of Smith, according to court documents.
Officers obtained an email address linked to Smith and messaged her. They received a response detailing how the writer had set eight fires in the area, five in Dishman Hills and three near Sunset Hill, according to court documents.
The Dishman Hills fires set Aug. 3 were quickly extinguished.
Spokane police spokeswoman Julie Humphreys said Spokane police will investigate the Dishman Hills fires.
Fassbender said Smith’s court dates will be in Spokane County Superior Court.
