Kent Man Sets Towels On Fire To Distract From Woman Shoplifting In Store

A Kent man is facing arson charges after he said he started a fire inside a supermarket to distract people from a woman shoplifting, according to KIRO 7.

The wild incident happened at a Federal Way store on August 15, according to court documents. Reports say 30-year-old Simon Karl Hoyt ignited a fire in the towel aisle to take attention off his friend's girlfriend shoplifting in the store.

Reporters said over 150 employees and customers were inside the store at the time of the fire, but they were evacuated. The blaze caused $27,000 in property damage and an estimated $30,000 loss of sales, an asset protection employee told KIRO 7.

Hoyt was caught on video standing where the fire started shortly before flames broke out, according to police. He was also recorded leaving the area and then the store as the blaze began to grow.

Reporters learned the suspect was caught the next day after he returned to the same store that caught on fire. Police said he had five different types of lighters and even lighter fluid in his possession when he was arrested.

Hoyt confessed to a Federal Way police officer that his friend asked him to light the fire for $70. This is allegedly because the friend's girlfriend was detained in the store for shoplifting. The boyfriend hoped the woman could escape during the mayhem caused by the fire.

"Court documents said Hoyt told the officer he knew setting the fire was wrong, but he needed the money," reporters wrote.

Hoyt was charged with second-degree arson.