BELLINGHAM - An alleged archer and arsonist was arrested early Tuesday, Feb. 5, after deputies accused him of pointing an arrow at his 61-year-old girlfriend and trying to light his Birch Bay home on fire with a burning blanket.
Craig Allen Larsen, 54, had been arguing with the woman all Monday and - by the evening - he was drunk and belligerent, said Whatcom County Undersheriff Jeff Parks. They'd been dating for about three years and live together in a house in the 5400 block of Salish Road.
Larsen's girlfriend called 911 from a neighbor's home at 10:05 p.m. to say he had shot arrows from his recurve bow into some belongings she kept in the garage. And at one point, Parks said, Larsen nocked the arrow onto the drawstring and pointed it at her.
By the time law enforcement arrived, Larsen had holed up in a bedroom, according to the sheriff's office. Deputies tried to negotiate with him over the phone, but he wouldn't come out. Larsen eventually hung up. Parks said deputies could still see what he was doing through a window: dipping a blanket in oil and trying to ignite it with a lighter.
"So they moved in immediately," Parks said.
Deputies stormed the house and arrested Larsen around 12:20 a.m. on suspicion of attempted arson and domestic violence assault in the first degree.
Nine hours later, Whatcom County Superior Court Commissioner David M. Thorn set Larsen's bail at $500,000.
Other than the burned blanket, nothing in the house was damaged by flames.
Craig Allen Larsen's first name was corrected Thursday, Feb.7, 2013.
Reach Caleb Hutton at 360-715-2276 or caleb.hutton@bellinghamherald.com. Read his dispatcher blog at blogs.bellinghamherald.com/dispatcher or follow him on Twitter at @bhamcrime.
