A 37-year-old Nanaimo man has been arrested in last week’s Tim Hortons restaurant arson.
At approximately 1 a.m., on August 2nd, a fire was reported at a Tim Hortons located near the intersection of Northfield Road and the Nanaimo Parkway.
Several witnesses saw the blaze spreading and called 911.
Fire crews responded to the scene within minutes and managed to contain the spread of the fire to the exterior of the building. Unfortunately, the interior sustained significant water damage.
According to officials, it appears the fire started near the front doors and then spread along the wooden beams to the top of the building.
The fire caused thousands of dollars of damages to the relatively new building and put several dozen employees out of work for up to six months.
37-year-old Kym Arkell of Nanaimo was located and arrested on August 3rd. He has been remanded into police custody until August 16th.
Arkell is a suspect in several other small fires that were set at nearby businesses, however, those incidents are still under investigation and no charges have been laid.
This is not the first time Arkell has been in trouble with Nanaimo RCMP.
Back in 2018, Arkell was run over by an RCMP police cruiser after he threatened another officer with a knife.
See more: Nanaimo RCMP uses police cruiser to take down knife-wielding suspect
Just before 10 a.m., on March 19th 2018, a Nanaimo RCMP officer spotted a man wanted for breaching conditions related to his probation near the ParticipACTION Park.
According to police, the officer walked up to the man and attempted to make an arrest, the man pulled a knife, threatened to kill the officer and then took off running.
A backup officer arrived and used his vehicle to hit the suspect at a low speed with the front of his vehicle.
Arkel flipped onto the hood of the vehicle and fell to the ground. Police then took him into custody and seized the knife. He was treated for minor cuts and bruises at a local hospital.
Arkell was charged with possession of a weapon, uttering threats, resisting arrest and breaching probation.
