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On November 14, Tigard Police arrested a 26-year-old man after he allegedly started four fires in Tigard that same morning. Joseph Tyler Martinez will be lodged in the Washington County Jail under Arson I, two counts of Reckless Burning and Criminal Mischief. Martinez was taken into custody when he was spotted by a Tigard officer near the Highway 217 overpass on Pacific Highway shortly after noon. A citizen had called police to report a man acting suspiciously near that location.
Earlier in the day, Tigard Police, along with Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, were called to a fire which suspiciously began outside of a Tigard business located at 11606 SW Pacific Highway. The fire was extinguished by fire personnel before it caused serious damage to the exterior of the structure. A witness provided police a description of the suspect.
A second fire had been reported several hours earlier which burned a trash receptacle at a Tri-Met shelter near the intersection of Main and Scoffins in Tigard. After Tigard officers at the scene concluded their work to restore safety, another fire was reported near the Tigard American Legion, just blocks away. Officers were able to extinguish a small fire that caused minor damage to a fence. A fourth fire was also reported near the Union Gospel Mission location on Pacific Highway however no damage resulted.
No injuries were associated with the fires.