Suspect says 'I'm sorry I started the fire' upon arrest after Buddhist temple goes up in flames
SEATTLE - A Buddhist temple in the heart of Seattle went up in flames hours before the New Year and with it, all the history its walls hold.
The man who admitted to setting it on fire is in jail being held on $40,000 bail.
Investigators say Waylon Williams, 42, admitted to mental struggles and apologized for starting the fire. He explained he only did it to keep imaginary government agents and gang members from chasing him.
Court documents allege William broke in through the temple's front door. He told officers he had been "prostituting himself" while doing meth and he started suffering from delusions, thinking that "Feds or gang members" were following him. Which is why he claims to have ran into the church. Once inside, court documents say he went down to the basement where he started drinking liquor. He found propane tanks and started throwing them, which is when the fire started.
FOX 13 spoke with neighbors who say crime from 12th and Jackson is migrating to their neighborhood, something they're now becoming all too familiar with.
Alex Ramugia lives just a few homes down from the temple. He said, "It's just constant in this neighborhood. It's always something, you know, it's almost like normal now."
Ramugia says his roommate is the one who told him what was unfolding.
"He's like, 'Oh my gosh, Alex, there's cop cars here; they just arrested somebody, the buildings on fire down the street,'" Ramugia recalled. "This church here is such an important part of our community," Ramugia said.
Docs say Williams made a run for a nearby home, busting down the front door. The person who lives there-- thought it was firefighters. Police came to her aid, arresting him. Williams allegedly told them: "I’m a paranoid schizophrenic and I thought the Feds were following me into that Church, and I’m sorry I started the fire. Did you put it out?"
Fire crews estimate the damage to be in the thousands. The temple reignited two days later.
"It's just so devastating to see such a community staple like that suffer this loss," Ramugia said.
A pile of charred remains lines the back alley, as the smell of fire still lingers.
"That impacts not just one person or one home but like a whole community," Ramugia said.
This isn’t Williams’ first run-in with the law. He has had over 50 warrants for arrest since 2001.
"It's heartbreaking," Ramugia said. "If they've been arrested 50 times to me, that's 50 cries for help or 50 opportunities when that's somebody that we could have helped, and instead we just throw it back out on the street."
Prosecutors argued for William's bail to be set at $100,000 saying they fear he’d fail to appear or commit another violent offense. Still the court set it lower than what was requested. Williams is expected back in court on Jan. 17.