Man accused of arson arrested after weekend fires

Police arrested a man accused of setting three fires in downtown Spokane on Saturday and another that damaged a business in May.

Chad “Misty” Horne, 36, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree arson and second-degree reckless burning.

The arrests were related to three fires set between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday. Two of the fires were in bushes and resulted in minimal damage, and one involved a portable toilet burned from the inside out, according to court records.

Firefighters extinguished all of the fires and suspected they were related and likely arson, according to a police news release.

Horne was located after an acquaintance of his from Hope House witnessed him lighting the last of the fires near Walnut Street and First Avenue, near the Spokane Fire Department Station 4, according to the court documents. The acquaintance alerted staff at Hope House, who reported the incident to police.

Staff at Hope House had known Horne for multiple years and identified him as the cause of a business fire that occurred this May when shown surveillance footage of the crime, court records said.

The May fire left dog groomers Lil Bit of Grooming, 1028 W. Shannon Ave., with extensive external damage, but at the time there were no suspects despite video of the perpetrator being made public.

Witness testimony along with video surveillance footage were enough to establish probable cause for Horne’s arrest, with court documents citing his appearance and various unique articles of clothing as supporting evidence.

In his first court appearance Monday, Horne told Court Commissioner Eugene Cruz that he has cancer, according to KXLY, and after Cruz asked Horne if he understood his rights, Horne answered, “Yes, sir, I have brain problems, but yes, sir.”

KXLY reported Horne’s lawyer told the court that he has “terminal brain cancer” and his behavior was “in addition to his mental health and substance abuse issues, … this is very out of character.”

Horne remained in the Spokane County Jail on Monday evening. Bail was set at $100,000. He will be arraigned July 2.