EVERETT – A man accused of setting fire to two vacant houses in Edmonds carried a fire extinguisher in his car and told police he wanted to be a firefighter, according to court documents.
Kenneth William Sloan, 20, was charged Thursday in Snohomish County Superior Court with two counts of second-degree arson. He remained in jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Sloan was arrested Aug. 19 after fires at the two vacant houses a few blocks from each other.
At the first blaze, a fire captain spotted the Edmonds man intently staring at the house in the 23500 block of 84th Avenue W., court documents say. The captain wrote down the man’s license plate number.
Witnesses later reported seeing Sloan leave an empty house in the 8200 block of 234th Street SW just before smoke began streaming out.
A fire officer and a witness followed Sloan when he left the scene and drove into the parking lot of a nearby apartment complex, court documents say.
Fire officials determined that the blazes were had been with materials found in the houses.
Sloan denied setting the fires, according to charging papers, and told police he has a long-standing desire to be a fireman.
The Edmonds man was convicted of two counts of first-degree reckless burning and one count of second-degree reckless burning when he was a juvenile.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
