Pullman arson suspect held on $1 million bail

Bail for pre-trial release for Bryan Lee Kitchen, the Pullman resident who was arrested for arson and booked in the county jail Monday night, was set at $1 million in a first appearance in court Tuesday. Judge David Frazier said his review of the arrest report led him to consider Kitchen to be a safety risk if allowed release.

He found probable cause to hold Kitchen on a preliminary charge of first degree arson in connection with the fire which destroyed four buildings under construction at the Grove Apartments site off Terre View in Pullman early last Sunday morning, July 14.

Prosecutor Denis Tracy told the court he expected a warrant could be issued as early as Wednesday for Kitchen’s arrest from the U.S. District Court in Spokane after a grand jury review of the case. Tracy also said reports he had received from Pullman police indicate Kitchen could be charged with starting other fires in Pullman.

The fire did an estimated $13 million in damages and threatened adjoining apartment buildings which had to be evacuated by occupants. The fire also damaged buildings.

Kitchen, identified as an apprentice for a plumbing subcontractor on the Grove project, was booked into the county jail here at 9:03 p.m. Monday after he was arrested in Pullman. A probable charge report said Kitchen was questioned Monday at the Pullman Police Department. He had been a person of interest since his car, a red Saturn, was seen parked on Eastside Boulevard near the fire site off Terre View about an hour before the fire broke out. Kitchen’s unoccupied car had been spotted by Officer Wade Wingardner at 2:16 a.m. and reports of the fire began to be received an hour later.

The report said Kitchen had been asked to tour the site with investigators Friday. Officers went to his residence on South Grand Monday, and he agreed to go to the police station for questioning.

Kitchen initially denied starting the fire, but later admitted to investigators that he started the fire. The report said he got down on his knees and demonstrated how he ignited the construction scraps with a Bic lighter. Kitchen told officers he remained at the scene for about 20 minutes, but he decided to leave when the fire appeared to be getting out of control.

According to the arrest report, Kitchen told officers “voices in his head” told him to do bad things. He said he had been drinking that night and when he drinks it becomes more difficult to resist what the voices tell him to do.

The report said time lapse images from a surveillance camera that morning showed the Grove construction site was dark at 3:03 a.m. and 13 minutes later the complex was ablaze. The short time span led fire investigator Chris Engle to suspect arson had been involved at the fire.

When Pullman officers first located Kitchen after the fire, he said he initially went to the site at about 1:30 a.m. because he had a feeling something bad was happening at the work site. He told them he had walked around the site and was concerned about his company’s tools which had been stored in a locker.

Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins in a Tuesday news conference noted that U.S. Attorney’s office in Spokane was asked to review the case for possible federal prosecution.

The on-site investigation of the Grove fire concluded Friday. Lead Investigator Rich Dragoo said samples from the site were collected and sent to the eastern Washington crime laboratory.

The report said Fire Chief Mike Heston rated last Sunday’s three-alarm fire as the worst to hit Pullman in the last 30 years.