Man accused of trying to set home on fire, barricading himself inside for hours before arrest

A man is in jail after he reportedly tried to set fire to a home Thursday north of Millwood. He then barricaded himself inside the residence for several hours before peacefully surrendering, deputies said.

Manuel J. Garcia, 42, was booked into the Spokane County Jail of suspicion of first-degree arson and second-degree malicious mischief, according to a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Spokane County Fire District 9 responded to a reported fire around 12:10 p.m. at a residence on the 7800 block of East Columbia Drive, deputies said. The caller said Garcia is an addict and caused the fire, although the caller was unsure if it was intentionally started.

Arriving fire personnel found the fire was out, but they needed deputies to assist in securing the scene pending a potential arson investigation, the release said.

Cpl. Mark Gregory, spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said in a text message that the home was not set on fire but rather the carpet and other things were singed.

Deputies requested behavioral health units as they worked to contact Garcia, who they believed may have been armed, alone in the house and appeared to be in crisis, deputies said. They said he was uncooperative and barricaded himself.

Other resources including SWAT, negotiators, the Rescue Task Force and an air support unit responded before Garcia surrendered around 5:45 p.m.

Deputies recovered a handgun, magazines and several hundred rounds of ammunition belonging to Garcia during a search after the standoff, deputies said.