By Garrett Cabeza Spokesman-Review (Spokane)
Lewiston Tribune, Idaho
MEAD, Idaho — A 51-year-old man claimed he started a fire at a Mead gas station because he was trying to catch the attention of first responders after three people he could not see were following him, according to court documents.
James F. Snyder was arrested on suspicion of first-degree arson after the early morning blaze at Glenn’s Foods.
A man who lives across the street from Glenn’s Foods, 11810 N. Market St., told deputies he saw a man, later identified as Snyder, pacing in the parking lot of the convenience store and gas station for about an hour, according to court documents.
A deputy, who was dispatched to the scene about 3:20 a.m., reported the witness saw Snyder dancing, yelling and hitting the gas pumps during that time.
The witness said Snyder then used his credit card and paid for fuel at one of the gas pumps. The suspect then kneeled at the pump, ignited fuel that was sprayed on the ground and then sprayed gas to the roof of the gas pumps, according to the witness, who called 911.
Video surveillance from the business backed up the witness account.
Cameras showed Snyder pacing around the pumps, paying for fuel at one of the pumps and spraying gasoline onto the pavement at the base of the pump, court records show. He then kneeled and ignited the puddle. The flames grew quickly, raising nearly to the height of the roof. The fire continued to burn and then died down just before deputies arrived.
After the fire ignited, Snyder moved to the middle bay of the pumps and paced back and forth, raising and lowering his arms. Deputies then detained him.
Arriving deputies reported seeing the flames and Snyder standing by the gas pumps. One of the deputies ran to the emergency fuel shutoff switch to shut down the fuel pumps to prevent an explosion.
Spokane County Fire District 9 firefighters quickly extinguished the flames, according to a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Snyder told deputies he got scared and started yelling for help after three people, who he could not see or describe, were following him. After no one responded to his screams, Snyder said he decided to start the fire to get law enforcement and firefighters to respond to help him.
He said he used a credit card to pay for fuel, poured gas on the ground next to the pump and pulled a lighter from his pocket to light the gas on fire. He then waited for law enforcement to show up. Deputies pulled the lighter from his pocket while searching him.
The owner of Glenn’s Foods estimated the roof of the gas station and the four pumps would cost roughly $200,000 to replace.
The alleged arson is the latest of a string of fires believed to have been intentionally set this month in Spokane County.
Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, allegedly set the Old Trails fire that decimated Spokane neighborhoods Aug. 1.
Danny J. Riesberg, 61, was arrested in connection with a fire Aug. 8 about half the size of a football field near North Havana Street and East Rowan Avenue.
Deputies on Thursday arrested Matthew G. Robinson , 35, with a lighter and a bottle of hand sanitizer containing 70% alcohol in connection with a fire at a Dairy Queen on West Francis Avenue.
Joseph V. Procell Jr., 21, is accused of starting a roughly quarter-acre brush fire Saturday on the Appleway Trail.
Snyder made his first appearance Tuesday in Spokane County Superior Court and is set for an arraignment Thursday. He remained in jail Tuesday afternoon on a $200,000 bond for arson and $25,000 for a previous charge of attempted residential burglary.
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