Portland’s unsettling trend of arson fires took another shocking twist with the news of a serial arsonist who was arrested, released, and subsequently apprehended again after allegedly setting multiple new fires. According to KPTV, 35-year-old Aubrey A. Edwards was first arrested Tuesday evening for setting a vehicle ablaze near Northeast Failing Street and North Vancouver Avenue. Fortunately, no injuries were reported in the incident.
After being booked early Wednesday on charges including second-degree arson and reckless burning, Edwards was released less than two hours later. What unfolded next is a rapid succession of fires believed to have been ignited by him between downtown Portland and North Portland. His freedom was short-lived as Edwards was arrested for the second time that same night. That Oregon Life notes that his alleged spree extended well beyond a single evening, linking him to previous incidents in Irving Park and other locations.
Authorities are piecing together the extent of his activities, and OregonLive reports that the string of arsons may have occurred over a span of 10 days. The suspicion intensifies as police consider Edwards a potential suspect in connected blazes near Irving Park on July 20, and additional fires off Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Sixth Avenue on July 27…