Boyfriend admits he set house on fire

A few hours after Angela Jones lost her house and nearly everything inside it, her boyfriend was arrested for allegedly starting the fire.

James Dean “JD” Swearingen, 26, was booked into the Spokane County Jail early Wednesday on a domestic violence-related arson charge. Swearingen reportedly admitted to Jones and a fire investigator that he set the house on fire using gasoline and a lighter. Swearingen was apparently upset about an argument the couple had earlier that day, according to court documents and Jones.

“He not only took away everything I had, but everything he had,” Jones said in an interview Wednesday. “It’s just sad all the way around.”

The day of the fire, Swearingen and Jones had been “bickering” about nothing important, she said, and Swearingen had been drinking.

Jones had left the house at 2609 N. Vista Road to get her children from day care. When they arrived home, smoke was pouring out. Firefighters were able to salvage a baby book, but little else, Jones said.

Valley Fire crews were called a little after 5 p.m. Tuesday to a blaze at the green-shingled house Jones was renting. Swearingen was questioned extensively by police and fire officials but was not arrested immediately after the fire. Swearingen’s family took him to a doctor to be treated for burns on his arms.

Swearingen initially told police and fire investigators he had been sleeping in a chair when the fire started and awoke to a smoke-filled room, according to an affidavit by deputy Valley Fire Marshal Norm Loftin. But Loftin noted Swearingen didn’t have any soot around his mouth and nostrils.

Swearingen called Jones about 10:30 p.m. to admit he had started the fire and to tell her he was going to turn himself in, according to Jones and court documents. Swearingen apologized and sounded very remorseful, Jones said. He told Jones something “snapped” inside him.

Swearingen’s bond was set at $250,000 Wednesday. Swearingen declined a request for a jailhouse interview. His family declined an interview request the night of the fire.

One thing Jones didn’t expect was the outpouring of community support. People brought her clothes. Co-workers at Rockwood Clinic set up a fund at Washington Mutual to help with expenses. The fund is in Angela Jones’ name and donations can be made at any of the branches.

Jones, who is staying with family, didn’t have renter’s insurance and was unsure what she would do for school clothes for her daughters. The support of family and friends has made her feel like everything, in the end, will be OK, Jones said.

“I’m just so grateful,” she said.