A 22-year-old man is facing arson charges after a series of fires downtown and in North Kamloops earlier this week.
William Aaron Lamb is charged with four counts of arson. Police say he’s been in custody since his arrest on Wednesday evening, March 17. His next court appearance in Tuesday, May 23.
“The joint-investigation by Kamloops police and Kamloops Fire Rescue included members of our General Investigation Support Team, Targeted Enforcement Unit, and frontline officers,” Kamloops RCMP Superintendent Jeff Pelley, said.
“The rapid response of multiple investigative units and KFR resulted in these fires being quickly extinguished, evidence collected, and a suspect identified and arrested, with charges approved by the BC Prosecution Service.”
Police and firefighters investigated a total of six suspicious fires in the span of about 10 hours on Monday night and Tuesday morning. Five dumpsters were set on fire downtown on Monday night, with a man also spotted lighting a grassfire along Sydney Avenue on the North Shore the next day.
Lamb, who has no other prior criminal record according to online records, is accused of setting three of the Monday night fires and another on Tuesday morning.
“We are pleased with the quick progression of this investigation that led to a suspect being taken into custody, and are thankful for the collaborative work done by the teams at Kamloops Fire Rescue and the Kamloops RCMP,” Kamloops Fire Chief, Ken Uzeloc, said.
It’s not clear whether these fires were related to any of the others in Kamloops in the past few weeks.
“Although a suspect has been arrested, it’s important to note that the investigations into other fires throughout the city are still ongoing,” Pelley added.
Another man, Owen Lee Coty, 26, is facing charges for two fires in North Kamloops – in an alleyway between Lethbridge Avenue and Sherbrook and between 10th and 11th streets on April 30.
Those with information related to the investigations into the series of fires in Kamloops are asked to contact the Kamloops RCMP at (250) 828-3000.
