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A homeless man with a long criminal record has been arrested in connection to the fire that damaged City Councilor Candace Avalos’ East Portland home.
According to the Portland Police Bureau, Vashon Locust was arrested Tuesday morning in connection to the Oct. 26 blaze that destroyed Avalos’ car and the side of her home. Police said Locust had entered a shed near Avalos’ house to plug in a small heater, but when the outlet failed to work, he lit a fire that spread.
That fire would eventually grow to consume a carport, Avalos’ car parked underneath, and the side of her home. Avalos escaped her home unhurt.
Locust, 51, was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of reckless burning and criminal mischief in the second degree, both misdemeanors, arrest data shows.
Over the past week, political pressure rose in City Hall over the police’s investigation of the blaze, with Avalos and some of her council colleagues asserting that police were too quick to conclude there was no evidence the fire was intended to target Avalos.
Avalos last week told WW that it felt as if police were “jumping to conclusions before the investigation is complete.” In a blog post, she connected the fire to high-profile incidents of political violence and wrote: “Whatever the cause, this didn’t happen in a vacuum. In our current national context, it’s hard not to connect this moment to everything happening around us—the threats, the division, the way public service sometimes puts a target on your back."
WW reported on Monday that the police bureau, in response to concerns from Avalos about the investigation, laid out 38 steps investigators had taken to determine the cause of the flame in a detailed memo. Avalos’ chief of staff, Jamey Evenstar, said Monday that the list confirmed their concerns: “That list clearly demonstrates that there is a lot of information they have not yet acquired, so we continue to ask that they refrain from speculating on the cause with the public until the evidence is clear one way or the other.”
Police Chief Bob Day and Portland Fire and Rescue Chief Lauren Johnson said in a joint statement after the arrest Tuesday that investigators’ “thorough, methodical investigation ultimately determined that this was not a targeted act of violence.”
Property damage from fires started by people sleeping in the elements is not uncommon in Portland. In 2022, WW reported that nearly half of all fires in Portland started in or near houseless camps—a number that has remained steady since.
Locust has a long criminal history in Oregon, according to court records, dating back nearly 20 years. Charges have included possession and delivery of cocaine, criminal trespassing, theft, burglary, menacing and harassment.
Locust was committed to the Oregon State Hospital in a December 2023 ruling where Circuit Court Judge Nan Waller found him “not currently able to move forward with their criminal case due to qualifying mental disorder.”
According to court records, Waller ordered that Locust be discharged from the Oregon State Hospital in February 2024 “following a notice from the Oregon State Hospital that Defendant no longer needs a hospital level of care.” Waller ordered that Locust be relocated to a residential program in Portland, but shortly thereafter issued a bench warrant after he failed to show up to court. Soon after that, Waller issued an arrest warrant.
Locust did appear in court on Aug. 13, and Waller in an order deemed him unfit to proceed in the case. On Aug. 20, Waller wrote that “Based off the assessment of Forensic Diversion, the defendant is not a good candidate for Community Restoration at this time. The defendant has already been to the [Oregon State Hospital] under these charges and cannot be returned for additional restoration services.”
Waller wrote that “the cases are hereby dismissed of all charges in the interest of justice.”
Locust is the same man captured in surveillance camera footage walking through the parking lot of the condominium complex around the time of the fire. According to the police bureau’s 38-point list of steps provided to Avalos’ office last week, investigators took extensive steps to find the man captured in the video. They patrolled the area around Avalos’ home; they released the footage publicly in hopes someone could identify the man; and they asked TriMet to sift through all bus, train and platform footage to locate what might be a match.
Jamey Evenstar, Avalos’ chief of staff, tells WW: “We are just learning of these new developments and are eager to learn more as the investigation continues.”
