A psychological evaluation was ordered for a Vancouver man who was arrested Friday after a nine-hour standoff with police.
Peter Benson, 65, will be evaluated at the Clark County Jail, according to documents filed in Clark County Superior Court on Tuesday. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 22.
On Friday, Benson allegedly started a fire in the front yard of his house in the Northwest neighborhood. The fire was about four feet tall and getting bigger, a neighbor told dispatchers, according to documents filed in Superior Court.
Three Vancouver firefighters came to the residence and put out the fire. The firefighters and Benson were standing around a pile of burnt items, including wood, paper, trash and a plastic recycling bin, when Vancouver police Officer Sean Donaldson arrived at the house.
When Benson saw Donaldson, Benson said “there’s my buddy” and walked toward the house. Although the firefighters told him to stay outside, Benson went into the house and slammed the front door, court documents said.
Donaldson and the firefighters were talking about what had happened when they saw Benson looking at them through the kitchen window. They then saw a black rifle barrel come up through the window blinds and point down toward them, court documents said.
Donaldson and the firefighters took cover behind their vehicles and called for help. Benson went farther into his house, out of sight, with the weapon, court documents said.
In his report, Donaldson wrote that he believed that the firearm was real and that Benson was going to shoot him and the firefighters.
Patrol officers, along with members of the regional SWAT team, arrived at the house and spent the next nine hours trying to coax Benson out of his house. After getting a search warrant, SWAT team members eventually went inside the house and took Benson into custody around 10 p.m. Friday on suspicion of assault.
Benson allegedly started a similar fire a few day’s prior in the middle of Northwest Esther Street, according to court documents.
On the night of March 25, firefighters came to Benson’s house after a neighbor called 911. Firefighters arrived to find a burning bin, along with burning pieces of paper and pasta, documents filed in Clark County District Court said.
Benson denied causing the fire and said that he woke up prior to police arriving and found the fire outside, court documents said. The arresting officer noted in his report that Benson has observable mental health problems.
On Thursday, Benson signed a pretrial agreement stating that he would plead guilty to second-degree reckless burning and serve 10 days in jail, as well as seek mental health treatment for the March 25 incident, court documents said.
