Suspect pleads not guilty in Sultan arson

Published 7:19 pm Tuesday, October 19, 2010

SULTAN — A flaming gas can has landed a Snohomish man in hot water with authorities.

Prosecutors allege that Gary Westom threw a homemade bomb at a porch full of people, including children.

Investigators believe Westom was seeking retaliation for a dispute earlier in the night but mistakenly threw the Molotov cocktail at the wrong house in downtown Sultan, court papers said. No one on the porch knew Westom or had been in a fight with him, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson wrote in court documents.

Matheson charged Westom, 32, with first-degree arson. The convicted felon pleaded not guilty Monday in Snohomish County Superior Court. He is being held on $100,000 bail.

Police were first called about 8 p.m. Sept. 18 to house on Fourth Street. They were told that there was a fight between Westom and several other men. Westom was gone and police left the house without speaking to him.

About two hours later, Westom allegedly returned to the area and tossed a flaming gas can at a house on Alder Street. That house is about three lots away from where he’d been allegedly assaulted.

Several adults were playing cards on the porch. A toddler also was on the porch and two other children were inside the house, Matheson said.

The explosive struck the front steps and the fire quickly spread. Several people told police flaming gas hit their clothing. A tenant quickly grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher and doused the blaze. No one was seriously injured, Matheson said.

Some people on the porch chased after Westom. He outran them and then jumped into a waiting van, court papers said.

Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies tracked Westom down about a week later. He denied setting the fire. He told authorities that he had been jumped by a dozen men. He said he didn’t report the assault because he is a “gangster” and doesn’t talk to the police, according to the charging papers. He told police he and his girlfriend were with friends at the time of the fire.

Investigators interviewed Westom’s friends who told them that Westom wasn’t with them, Matheson wrote.

Westom has six prior felony convictions and 37 misdemeanor convictions, according to court documents.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.