Police announced Tuesday (July 18) that a local man has been charged with deliberately setting a fire behind a Castlegar business last month.
Riley Jackson, a 28-year old Castlegar man, has been charged with arson after he was identified on video surveillance.
“On June 5, a downtown Castlegar business called RCMP to report wooden pallets behind their business appeared to have been recently burnt,” Corp. James Grady stated in a July 18 news release.
In a review of June 4 surveillance footage, Grady said a lone suspect, later identified as Jackson, was observed to light the pallet and a piece of cardboard on fire before leaving the fire to burn unattended.
“Fortunately, the building was constructed of brick and the fire self-extinguished before spreading further to the pallets or nearby brush,” Grady said. “Though damage was minimal, Mr. Jackson’s actions posed a great risk to property and the public.”
Jackson was subsequently arrested by Castlegar police and released, slated to appear in Castlegar court.
Jackson again came up on police radar when Castlegar RCMP allegedly observed him breaching bail conditions on Sunday (July 15).
He was arrested and brought before provincial court for a bail hearing.
Jackson was released on bail with a promise to next appear July 26 in the Castlegar courthouse.
Grady said Castlegar RCMP and the Castlegar fire department have responded to a volume of suspicious fires that are suspected to have been deliberately set in Castlegar parks, forested areas, and on one occasion inside the bathroom of a local business. There has been no arrests in relation to those fires.
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