Crider Arrested On Arson Charge Ex-Candidate For Governor In Spokane Jail, Also Wanted For Failing To Show Up For Dui Trial

A former fringe candidate for governor finds himself in a familiar place - behind bars.

Gary Crider, the Spirit Lake, Idaho, resident who had campaigned to become Idaho’s new governor, was arrested last month on a charge of arson.

He is in the Spokane County Jail on $100,000 bail. Crider, 38, also is wanted in Kootenai County for failing to show up for trial on two drunken-driving charges.

His record includes a conviction for assaulting a Spokane police officer, and Kootenai County court records show that Crider was cited twice and spent time in jail for drunken driving while he was campaigning for governor.

On Tuesday, Crider said he is innocent and promised he would run for governor again.

“Oh yeah, I’ll run again. I did real good,” he said in an interview from jail. “I was winning all my debates.”

A Spokane County sheriff’s deputy arrested Crider on Feb. 9 after he allegedly had set a car on fire in north Spokane.

Lt. Clyde Ries said Crider had gone to the area with Danielle Shinaver and Jody Killam to pick up Killam’s young son.

All three had been drinking and argued over who would pay the baby sitter, according to a Spokane sheriff’s report.

Crider assaulted both women, Ries said.

Killam put her 4-year-old son in the car’s front seat and Crider threatened to burn the vehicle; he took a gas can from the car and poured gasoline over the back seat, according to the sheriff’s report.

Killam grabbed her son from the vehicle as Crider threw a cigarette lighter into the fuel, setting the car ablaze, Lt. Ries said.

Crider said it was the women who attacked him, slapping him in the face and ripping his shirt. He said they stole $200 from him.

In the course of the assault, he accidentally dropped his cigarette in the car, lighting it on fire, he said.

Crider was arrested on a charge of first-degree arson and two counts of fourth-degree assault.

Two arrest warrants were issued after Crider failed to appear at his drunken driving trial in Kootenai County on Feb. 24.

Crider said he was in the Spokane County Jail at the time.

From the back of a Yamaha motorcycle, Crider, an independent candidate, stumped to abolish income and property taxes and supported legalized gambling and prostitution.

His name was stripped from Idaho’s general election ballot for lack of valid signatures.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Winda Benedetti staff writer Staff writer Bonnie Harris contributed to this report.