He hid from cops in a chicken coop. Now Pierce County man is charged with arson
A 27-year-old man is suspected in a rash of incidents, including breaking into a woman’s home where she went into cardiac arrest. The next day, he allegedly set a duplex on fire in a Pierce County neighborhood
Jermaine Dunbar has been charged with first-degree burglary and first-degree arson for incidents that took place Monday and Tuesday, according to court records.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Dunbar’s behalf during his arraignment Wednesday. Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Barbara McInvaille set bail at $700,000, records show.
Charging documents show that both incidents Dunbar is charged with occurred at homes on East Portland Avenue. He was arrested in the same area Tuesday.
Charging documents detail alleged crimes
The first incident occurred Monday at about 8 a.m. in the 3700 block of East Portland Avenue. Detectives learned that Dunbar allegedly broke into a home with a 67-year-old woman and 68-year-old woman inside, according to charging documents.
Documents show he allegedly was armed with a golf club. He accused one of the women of kidnapping his 5-year-old son. While inside, Dunbar allegedly struck the woman’s dog with the golf club several times. The dog was not seriously injured, and the woman told police that her dog might have bitten Dunbar on his lower leg.
When the 67-year-old woman was on the phone with 911 to report the break-in, she suffered cardiac arrest and could not complete the call. Prosecutors wrote that the woman was taken to a hospital and might not survive. If she does not survive, prosecutors said they might charge Dunbar with murder.
The next day around 8:18 a.m., documents show, a witness reported to 911 that a man was pouring gasoline on a duplex in the same area where the break-in happened. The description of the suspect was the same as the man who broke into the East Portland Avenue home.
The man was pouring gasoline from a gas can and appeared to use a lighter to set fire to the building. Several other 911 callers reported the same incident, documents show. When Tacoma Fire personnel went to the scene, they extinguished the fire and found the gas can still there.
The person who lived in the duplex showed officers surveillance footage, which showed a man pouring gasoline at the front door, lighting it on fire and then walking away. The fire cracked the door frame, damaged the door and adjacent siding and melted the surveillance camera.
Police said that the person who witnessed the arson saw the suspect jump the fence of a house in the 3600 block of East Portland Avenue. The resident of the home did not let police search but said Dunbar lived in a red shed on the property in a chicken coop.
Police contained the area, documents show.
After his arrest, detectives noticed Dunbar had a wound on his right upper thigh, documents show. He told detectives a dog bit him but denied hitting the animal with a golf club.
Dunbar said several people appeared to him about his 5-year-old son and told him to look at neighbor’s houses, documents show. He said went to the woman’s home to look for his son and heard someone say something about the child. He allegedly admitted to forcing the door open to go inside.
Documents show Dunbar admitted to lighting the duplex on fire. He allegedly gave a detective the lighter from his pocket.
Dunbar was booked into the Pierce County Jail.
Court records show Dunbar has several criminal convictions, including in 2023 for fourth-degree assault and unlawful imprisonment in Grays Harbor County.
