A 56-year-old Olympia man who set his car on fire after passing through the entrance to a Fred Meyer store in Everett has been investigated for second-degree arson and first-degree malicious mischief, according to documents filed by the Everett Police Department. was arrested in .
The documents show that shortly after 6 p.m. on Friday, an employee of Fred Meyer took a black Chrysler without a license plate and without white spray paint that said "Demonic" and "Demonic" on the outside. I pointed out the sedan and was waved. panic. "The car faced the south entrance of Fred Meyer's shop.
The employee told police the driver was "behaving strangely and not responding to requests to move the vehicle," according to the documents.
The officer got out of the car and approached the suspect's car, which was slowly rolling toward the store entrance. As the driver of the car was heading towards the store, the officer smelled gasoline and propane and saw two gas cans inside the vehicle.
Police said the driver was wearing a ventilator with a filter around his neck "presumably to keep from passing out from the fumes from the propane and petrol filling the car."
The man admitted to the presence of the police and said things like, "Blow this up." Police documents show that about 50 people were near the store entrance who may have been injured or killed by a man driving toward the store.
As the man continued to drive to the front door, officers saw a large propane tank in the back seat of the car and two large torch lighters in the man's hands. A police officer hit the driver's side window with a flashlight and ordered the man to stop.
Police said the man ignored officers' orders and drove into the store's door, causing an estimated $20,000 to $30,000 in damage.
As the man walked through the front door, he stopped the car with its two front tires over the entrance threshold. He then put the car in the parking lot and turned it off after repeatedly ordering it to do so.
The man told officers he wanted to "talk to the FBI," and that he was being hunted by "devil demons." When officers negotiated the man to get out of the car, the man repeatedly poured gasoline on the floorboards, pointed a flashlight lighter at the gas can, and threatened to blow up the car.
Officers continued to negotiate with the man, but eventually the man got out of the car and crouched inside the open driver's side door, at which point the car exploded and burst into flames. The man crawled out of the car on all fours and was pulled away by police.
Due to the suspicion of intentional damage to a store door and the deliberate act of pre-planning a car explosion, officers detained it for a first-degree malicious prank and second-degree assault investigation. I arrested a man. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail.
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