PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The 40-year-old Portlander accused of torching the apartment building he lived in made his first appearance in a Multnomah County courtroom Monday.
Shaun Szwarz was arrested for allegedly setting fire to the Vandalay Arms Apartment Complex in Northeast Portland. The 4-alarm blaze near NE 104th and East Burnside displaced 15 people and sent multiple people to the hospital. He was booked on 18 charges: six counts each of arson and reckless endangerment — all felonies — plus six misdemeanor counts of first-degree criminal mischief.
He pleaded not guilty and will be back in court on July 22.
One arrested after four-alarm fire at Portland apartment building, 2 hospitalized
Eight people were rescued from the building and two were taken to the hospital for treatment of serious injuries.
One of the residents who was injured, Abraham Olmos, told KOIN 6 News on Saturday his mother, who was just visiting, has broken bones, a broken back and third-degree burns on her feet. Olmos himself suffered deep second-degree burns on his hands and arms…