Arson, assault suspect caught

LYNNWOOD — Aleksandr Petrov made a clean getaway Friday night.

The Everett man stopped by to visit a friend at a Lynn­wood mobile home. He drank too much vodka, was really drunk and asked to take a shower.

That’s when police believe Petrov set the home ablaze. He was seen running naked into the night.

Saturday was Petrov’s birthday. He celebrated the occasion with a trip to the Snohomish County Jail.

Petrov was jailed for investigation of several offenses, including assault, arson, burglary and possession of a stolen firearm. A judge Monday maintained bail at $1 million.

Just after midnight Saturday, a police dog found Petrov clothed but shoeless.

When a police officer asked Petrov what happened to his footwear, he allegedly answered, “They’re at the house I burned,” according to a police report filed Monday in Everett District Court. The mobile home was destroyed.

The man allegedly told police he set the fire as payback. Petrov said his friend owed him money.

Petrov was in the news last week. The man might act “aggressively and unexpectedly,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.

Detectives released Petrov’s photo and said they were looking for the four-time felon in connection with a Jan. 27 shooting in south Everett.

That’s when detectives believe a man, drunk and armed with a 9mm Smith &Wesson semi­automatic handgun, confronted a homeowner who was in his own driveway working on a car.

A scuffle followed and police believe the handgun the suspect was carrying fired. A bullet grazed the homeowner’s leg. The home­owner’s wife hit the suspect over the head with a metal can full of juice.

The suspect fled.

Police found the handgun and a cell phone the suspect dropped. The evidence led deputies to Petrov, the court documents said.

The man who was shot picked Petrov out of a photo lineup, the court papers said.

Detectives interviewed Petrov’s former housemate, an Everett woman, 42. She told detectives that Petrov had been to her home earlier the evening of the shooting but she refused to let him in.

He became enraged and he allegedly forced his way inside, threatened the woman with his gun and started to choke her, according to the court papers.

He pushed the woman down and punched her in the face, breaking her nose.

She told police Petrov grabbed her cell phone as she attempted to dial 911. Petrov took off.

Police later found that woman’s cell phone in the driveway of the man who had been shot, the documents said.

Police in Snohomish County know Petrov well. In addition to his felonies, he has nine misdemeanor convictions and was wanted last week on several outstanding warrants, court papers show.

Petrov was accused of leading deputies on a chase through the south part of the county in September. He reached 65 mph in a 25 mph zone and nearly crashed the motorcycle he was riding, according to court papers. He allegedly told police he thought it would be “cool” to run from the law, court papers said.

Brad Walvatne, a detective with the sheriff’s major crimes unit, on Saturday asked the judge handling the new cases to set a high bail. In an affidavit, he said Petrov is “an extreme danger to society.”

Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com.