Man arrested after fire in Portland building

PORTLAND, Oregon – Police, working with Portland Fire and Rescue (PF&R) investigators, have arrested and charged a man with multiple counts of arson after one of four intentionally set fires destroyed a nearby building.

Investigators said the fire started and spread in a homeless encampment outside the building on Northeast 28th Avenue. The building has commercial space below and residential apartments above.

“The smell entered our apartment, so we took matters into our own hands and called the police,” said Evelia Renteria, who has lived in one of the apartments next to the cafe for five years. “We said, ‘We’re not sure what’s going on, but there’s a fire next to us.'”

People who work and live in the area believe it was retaliation after the city planned to clear the nearby homeless camp.

The landlord of the commercial and residential property showed KGW a July 3 city illegal camping notice informing people their campsite would be removed.

“It feels like retaliation just because they were told to evacuate,” Renteria said. “Nothing like this has ever happened before.”

The Dear Sandy cafe is located next to the burned building. They posted a photo on Instagram and said someone had set something on fire and thrown it into their mail slot.

“Today could have been the end of ‘Dear Sandy’, but instead all we need is a new curtain. We are shocked but extremely grateful,” they said.

Renteria said the campground has been open for about a week and homeless people were using the now-burned awning for shade from the recent sweltering temperatures.

A Dear Sandy employee said they would be increasing security on their front door and removing their mail slot.

The suspect, Jon Martin, was found by Portland police at another nearby homeless encampment on Wednesday afternoon. Martin was taken into custody by PF&R fire investigators and Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers. He is charged with three counts of first-degree arson, one count of arson II, one count of attempted arson II, and reckless arson.

Portland police said the motive is currently unknown.