Faced with an arsonist on the loose, a vigilant group of citizens took the law into their own hands in southwest Oregon. They ended up “apprehending a man suspected of starting wildfires in a forested area and tying him to a tree.” They only did that because the anarchist was “combative.”
Arsonist tied to a tree
When an unstable arsonist crossed paths in the woods with a group of vigilantes, a rope and a handy tree, the outcome wasn’t what you’d normally expect.
They didn’t string the varmint up for instant justice. They were forced though, they say, to tie him up until cops could get there.
As noted in a statement by Curry County Sheriff John Ward, on July 25, the “white male adult” arsonist was spotted “walking along the gravel road that leads towards Mariel Lodge and Rogue River Ranch, starting fires.”
A man suspected of starting two wildfires in rural Oregon has been arrested with the help of three local residents who tied him to a tree.
The citizen's arrest happened on Monday afternoon, after Trennon Smith allegedly started igniting fires while he walked along a gravel road. pic.twitter.com/cJ9NcPbaom
— Talk Radio 107.7 FM (@TalkRadio1077) July 27, 2022
Concerned citizens phoned it in and the “sheriff’s office alerted local patrols and the southwest Oregon Department of Forestry.” They needed help for both “extinguishing the fires and locating the suspect.”
“Three helicopters were dispatched” to spot signs of the arsonist from the air while “ground crews including residents of the area quickly got the two fires under control and contained.” That’s what community involvement is all about.
Even the deputies are calling what happened next “a dramatic turn of events.” Things didn’t go real well for the firebug, that’s for sure. “We need more citizens to be ready to respond like this. Excellent job by all involved!” wrote one person on social media.
He fell, they say
The sheriff confirmed officially that the suspected arsonist was also “very combative.” That’s to back up the three “local residents” who “located the suspect walking on the roadway near the fires and detained him until law enforcement arrived on scene.”
It seems that 33-year-old Trennon Smith from Veneta, Oregon put up a fight when discovered.
Police found the arsonist tied securely to a tree but he apparently had some little mishap before he got that way. They called in an ambulance crew to treat smith for injuries he “apparently received from falling down” but was later medically cleared.
The vigilant locals insist he “had to be tied to a tree to subdue him” but they didn’t beat him up or anything. When they got him back to the office his paperwork charges him with “arson and reckless burning.”
It’s not clear if the suspected arsonist has an attorney yet but he does have a bond set. He can go home for $100,000. Thankfully, the “total area burned was less than one acre,” Sheriff Ward relates.
“The quick actions on getting the fires out most certainly averted a catastrophe and saved lives.” Not only that, “If the fires had not been contained and if they got out of control, they could have blocked all the residents and visitors from having an escape route.“