Man arrested for dropping lit matches at a Bellingham gas station
A homeless man was arrested Thursday after allegedly dropping lit matches into gasoline tank covers in the York neighborhood.
Chase Anthony Gremmert, 28, was arrested on suspicion of reckless endangerment.
At 2:07 p.m. on Aug. 29, Bellingham police were called to the Mobil gas station in the 300 block of Lakeway Drive for the report of a suspicious person in the store, according to Bellingham Police Lt. Claudia Murphy.
Four minutes later, Bellingham police received another call about the man, later identified as Gremmert. Gremmert was allegedly dropping lit matches into the gas tank covers in the parking lot of the gas station, Murphy said.
When officers spoke with Gremmert, he had a partially full box of matches in his hand, Murphy said.
“His actions of dropping lit matches into the gas tank covers created a substantial risk of death or serious injury to others,” Murphy said.
He was taken into custody without incident.
This story was originally published August 30, 2019 at 2:15 PM.
