PORT ORCHARD, Wash. — A Port Orchard man is facing numerous charges, accused of taking a blow torch to a man’s garage while riding a golf cart with a dog.
The whole thing was caught on security video.
The homeowner told KIRO 7 that he had just gotten up ten minutes earlier, before the fire really got going Tuesday morning.
He got out safely.
Dan Carlson lives across the street and says he and his wife were in the hot tub when they spotted the golf cart and then flames.
“I went up to the door, rang the doorbell a couple times, beat on the door,” said Carlson.
Carlson says his wife called 911 and he confronted the guy with the blow torch.
“I asked him ‘what are you doing?’ He goes ‘I’m with the fire department.’ I looked at him, said ‘no’ – what the hell? What’s going on? That’s when he took after me with the golf cart, tried to run me down,” said Carlson.
Carlson says he grabbed onto the golf cart and tussled with the man as he took off up the road, and then he grabbed the wheel.
“I got the golf cart into the ditch. He then came at me with the torch, told me ‘back off, get away.’”
He says the man then pointed the blow torch at him, close enough to burn his shirt.
Carlson says he went back home to get his car. By then, he says the man got the golf cart out of the ditch and was going back down the road.
Carlson was able to corner him in a driveway.
“Then we had a standoff. He was looking at me, and I was looking at him – I’m waiting for help to arrive,” he said.
Moments later, a state trooper arrived and detained the 47-year-old suspect, who told investigators he was burning items on his own property – allegedly under the influence of drugs and alcohol – just before he was spotted near the house fire.
The suspect was booked for arson, assault, malicious mischief and burglary.
He’s expected to appear in court on Friday.
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