High bail set for woman accused of setting Arlington fire

ARLINGTON — Bail was set at $500,000 Friday for an Arlington-area woman accused of setting fire to a historic downtown building.

Teresa L. Casados, 53, who also goes by the last name of Martinez, appeared briefly in Everett District Court. She is under investigation for first-degree domestic-violence arson. A public defender did not argue with the prosecutor’s request for the high bail.

Casados has a misdemeanor domestic-violence assault on her record, and has skipped out on more than 30 court hearings in the past, Snohomish County deputy prosecuting attorney Katelyn Thomason said in court.

“She is a danger to the community,” Thomason said.

Casados and her husband reportedly had been hanging out Monday night at the American Legion downtown. They started arguing, and she left about 6:30 p.m. Less than 15 minutes later, she allegedly called him and threatened to burn down his apartment. He had been living within the building at 229 N. Olympic Ave., which housed the 2 Bits and More thrift shop.

Casados lives in the Jim Creek area outside of town, court papers show. She was arrested Thursday.

Police allege that they have evidence showing Casados was at the apartment for about 5 minutes before driving off Monday night. Moments later, smoke started pouring from the building. The fire caused an estimated $465,000 in damage. No one was hurt.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com; @rikkiking.

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