Man arrested for arson at Bend car dealership
Published 6:30 am Monday, September 17, 2018
- Michael Gaskill, 50, is accused of setting a utility vehicle on fire and causing damage to two other cars at Kendall Toyota of Bend on Friday, Sept. 14, 2018(Deschutes County Sheriff's Office/Submitted photo)
A 50-year-old homeless man was arrested for arson after allegedly setting a utility vehicle on fire early Friday morning at Kendall Toyota of Bend.
The fire spread to two nearby cars at the dealership and the estimated damage is more than $60,000, according to Bend Police.
Bend Police and Fire departments responded at about 12:26 a.m. Friday to a report of a vehicle on fire in the fenced parking lot of the dealership.
Responding personnel found a 2007 Polaris Ranger utility vehicle engulfed in flames. Bend firefighters were able to extinguish the fire, but not before flames reached a 2015 Toyota Camry and 2016 Toyota 4Runner. The Camry had been dropped off by a private owner for a routine service and the 4Runner belonged to Kendall Toyota. Both vehicles were damaged by the fire and heat from the utility vehicle.
Police officers found a transient man, Michael Gaskill, inside another vehicle parked in the dealership parking lot.
An investigation found Gaskill was attempting to start a small fire to warm himself in another area of the parking lot and near the utility vehicle earlier in the night.
He initially denied lighting the utility vehicle on fire, but evidence linked Gaskill to both fires, according to police.
Gaskill was arrested and booked on charges of second-degree arson, reckless burning, first-degree criminal mischief, unlawful entry into a motor vehicle and possession of methamphetamine.