PORT ANGELES — A 34-year-old Port Angeles-area man has pleaded not guilty to first-degree arson and second-degree malicious placement of an explosive for allegedly setting fire to his mother’s residence in April.
Clallam County sheriff’s deputies said Austin J. Britton also opened the valve of a large propane tank with the intent to cause an explosion in a detached shed, court papers said.
Britton entered the plea at his June 8 arraignment.
He was charged in Clallam County Superior Court on May 11 and arrested on a warrant three weeks later.
Britton is being held in the Clallam County jail on $102,500 bond.
His trial is scheduled for July 30 in Clallam County Superior Court.
A status hearing is set June 29.
Probable-cause report
According to the probable-cause report, Britton got into an argument with his mother April 28 because Britton believed she had lied to his father about his past.
The mother told deputies she could not control her son and told him to leave her residence at 272 Draper Valley Road.
Britton told his mother he would burn anything he could not take with him, court papers said.
Two deputies responded to a disturbance and noticed two small fires burning at the unoccupied single-wide residence.
After checking for people inside, Sheriff’s Sgt. Randy Pieper used a fire extinguisher to put out a small blaze that burned a hole through the living room carpet, causing an estimated $200 in damage, Pieper said.
After mopping up the fires, the deputies “discovered a strong smell of propane” coming from a detached shed.
“Fire department personnel then discovered that the valve of a large propane tank had been opened and propane was venting into [the] shed,” Pieper wrote in the case file.
Pieper said Britton intentionally set fire to the residence and intentionally opened the valve to the propane tank, “filling the shed with propane, and started a fire near the door with the intent to cause an explosion in the shed.”
“The propane and fire near the shed created a substantial risk of serious death or injury to firefighters and law enforcement,” Pieper wrote in the probable-cause affidavit.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
