A Vancouver man was arrested last week, accused of lighting multiple fires between December and March in central Vancouver.
Robert Boomsliter, 38, appeared April 27 in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of first-degree arson. His bail was set at $250,000, and he is scheduled to be arraigned Monday, court records show.
Vancouver police and fire investigators responded Jan. 8 to the 8100 block of Northeast Ninth Street. They learned a man, later identified as Boomsliter, set fire to a house while two people and their pets were inside. The fire caused minor damage to the front of the house, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Last month, investigators received a tip from one of the residents that Boomsliter had been posting online the victims of the fire deserved it, court records state.
On April 26, police went to Boomsliter’s house, which they said was within walking distance of the fire, and arrested him. When they spoke with Boomsliter, he was wearing the same clothes captured on the victims’ surveillance video. His family expressed concern for his mental health, the affidavit states.
The Jan. 8 fire was one in a series of six suspicious fires the Fire-Arson Investigation Team investigated in the North Garrison and Vancouver Heights areas, according to a police news release. The investigation team includes the Vancouver Fire Department and Vancouver police, along with help from special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Investigators canvassed the neighborhoods and circulated information about the fires to businesses and residents. Vancouver police said the agencies are continuing to investigate and ask anyone with information about any suspicious fires in the past six months to call 911.
