A Kent man has been charged with felony arson on Aug. 27 after allegedly locking himself in the Enumclaw 7-Eleven and setting the building on fire.
According to charging documents, Jerome Thomas Whitmore, 50, entered the 7-Eleven on Aug. 24 around 3 a.m. and barricaded himself in the real employee area; the Enumclaw Police Department reported in a social media post that Whitmore had asked an employee for free gas and food, and then locked himself in the room when his request was denied.
The EPD, assisted by the Black Diamond Police Department, attempted to convince Whitmore to exit, but he refused.
Whitmore allegedly started the fire by tearing the cardboard off a carton of cigarettes and lighting it; he told police he started the fire to “summon police and fire” to the store because he was “being followed by 15 to 20 ‘Crip gang members’” due to an incident nearly three decades ago, documents read.
However, Whitmore never heard the fire alarm go off, so he threw a package of cigarette lighters onto the fire. He was eventually driven out by the fire and smoke.
After his arrest, Whitmore told police he was not a “fire bug” and only lit one other fire when he was 13 in a Washington state Youth detention facility to “‘get attention’” and “‘get out of that room.’”
Whitmore has a long list of criminal activity between 1997 to now, ranging from malicious mischief and failing to cooperate with law enforcement to second-degree domestic violence assault and robbery.
He also has 22 “failed to appear” warrants.
Prosecutors recommended bail be set at $75,000, but was set at $5,000.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 2, Whitmore remained in custody at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
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