A Vancouver man appeared in Clark County Superior Court on Thursday in connection with a fire that destroyed an under-construction apartment building earlier this month.
Ryan J. Rodriguez, 19, is also accused of stealing tools from the apartment building before the fire.
He appeared in court Thursday on suspicion of second-degree arson and second-degree burglary. He already has been charged with second-degree burglary and first-degree trafficking in stolen property for allegedly taking tools from the construction site and selling them.
Firefighters responded at about 2:40 a.m. Aug. 10 to a 12-unit building under construction at 4721 N.E. 66th Ave. Crews remained on scene much of the morning, extinguishing the fire and dousing hot spots.
Police later met with the owner of the property, who said there was no electrical service to the building yet, and the fire sprinkler system had been tested but wasn’t activated. The owner estimated the damage to be more than $250,000, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court.
The construction site was secured with a fence, but several places within the site had been vandalized with spray paint, the affidavit stated.
A week after the fire, police arrested Rodriguez for stealing tools from the site and selling them on a mobile app. He allegedly told police his girlfriend, 17-year-old Cheyenne Christensen, was with him, according to court documents.
Police contacted Christensen who said she, Rodriguez and a third acquaintance used bolt cutters to enter the construction site, steal tools and vandalize buildings with spray paint. She allegedly said Rodriguez and the other acquaintance used wood and insulation to start a fire inside the under-construction building. They reportedly used a spray paint can to accelerate the fire, the affidavit said.
The three then ran from the scene and threw the remaining spray paint can near the fence, where police later recovered it. Christensen said a neighbor yelled at them as they fled the scene. Rodriguez also allegedly photographed the fire with his cellphone from a nearby field. Police later found a photo of the construction site on his Facebook page, court documents stated.
Christensen appeared Thursday morning in Juvenile Court.
It’s unclear if Rodriguez is being investigated for other recent arsons in the area, including a blaze at a nearby under-construction house, or if the acquaintance will be charged in the Aug. 10 fire.
On Thursday, Judge Robert Lewis appointed Rodriguez an attorney and set his bail at $25,000 between his two cases.
He will be arraigned on all of the charges Friday.
