Gig Harbor Man Not Guilty Of Arson, Jury Finds

BREMERTON, WA - The Gig Harbor man accused of setting fire to the Spyglass Hill Apartments in Bremerton on New Year's day 2018 was acquitted Monday in Kitsap County Superior Court. A jury took only two hours to decide Wayne Arthur Nelsen, 46, was not guilty of both first-degree arson and residential burglary.

The fire broke out shortly after 2 a.m. Jan. 1 and ultimately caused about $8,600 worth of damage to property inside the affected apartment. Nelson's legal counsel maintained his innocence from the outset.

Despite video surveillance showing Nelson enter the apartment about half-an-hour before the fire began and leave just minutes before the building's fire alarms went off, prosecuting attorneys could not prove without a reasonable doubt that Nelson himself started the fire.

Nelson reportedly went to a Seattle Seahawks game on New Year's Eve before getting on the ferry to Bremerton. In Bremerton, Nelson reportedly went to a couple bars for drinks while waiting for his wife to pick him up.

At some point Nelson ended up at the Spyglass Hill Apartments, where other New Year's Eve parties were still happening. After leaving the apartment building, Nelson reportedly ended up coming into contact with a Kitsap County deputy in East Bremerton after the sheriff's office received a report of an unruly person.

The deputy gave Nelson a ride to a nearby gas station unaware of any connection between his passenger and the apartment fire. Though, before letting Nelson into his patrol car the officer conducted a brief search of Nelson's person and found nothing — specifically a semi-automatic pistol that was reportedly stolen from the apartment during the fire.

Nelson got back home to Gig Harbor that night via an Uber ride; the next day he saw law enforcement sharing his picture from the building's surveillance system, so he chose to surrender to police.

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Image via Bremerton Police Department