A 53-year-old Vancouver man is facing a first-degree arson charge for allegedly setting fire inside of a room at a Salmon Creek hotel.
Clark County Superior Court Judge David Gregerson set bail in the case against Cravann A. Sturgis at $10,000 during a first appearance hearing Thursday. An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Feb. 11.
Sturgis was the registered occupant of a room at Red Lion & Suites Vancouver, 13206 N.E. Highway 99, starting Jan. 5, after being referred to the hotel by a mental health organization, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The affidavit says Sturgis has “known, stated or observed mental health issues.”
He’d been approved to stay there for a month, but he was combative with and hostile toward an employee on the night of Jan. 24, which resulted in management deciding to evict him from his room by the next morning, according to the affidavit.
“Minutes after being notified of his eviction, smoke was seen coming from the suspect’s room,” the affidavit says.
Clark County Fire District 6 crews were already at the hotel; they’d been dispatched for a medical call. An employee informed them of the fire on the second floor, and the firefighters quickly equipped themselves for a fire response. The “hot little fire” was extinguished in about 10 minutes, Fire District 6 spokesman Dave Schmitke previously told The Columbian.
Clark County Deputy Fire Marshal Jason Knoble investigated the fire’s cause. He wrote in the affidavit that its origin was a bed located nearest the window, and there was a pile of combustible material on the bed.
After determining the fire was not sparked by an electrical issue or improperly discarded smoking materials, Knoble concluded a handheld flame could not be ruled out as the ignition source, according to the affidavit. He discovered a lighter in the room along with prescription medicine bottles and mail with Sturgis’s name on them.
Additionally, security footage showed Sturgis exiting the room, and then five to six minutes later, smoke coming from it, according to the affidavit.
