A Ketchikan man was arrested Saturday on arson and theft charges related to a fire at the Eagles building Friday morning. Eagles is a national fraternal organization, and its local building is on historic Creek Street along the waterfront.
Richard Lee Blackwood II, age 31, is charged with second-degree counts of arson and theft, both felonies. Blackwood worked as an Eagles bartender and closed the building on Thursday night.
In court documents, police say that Blackwood admitted to starting the fire in an attempt to cover up that he had stolen cash earlier. Eagles representatives told police that a safe was missing about $4,500 that night, and over $1,000 in cash had gone missing in the last two weeks.
Surveillance footage from outside the building captured a person whom witnesses identified as Blackwood. However, the surveillance cameras inside the building had been damaged, and most were covered in black spray paint.
The fire department extinguished the fire within minutes of the 911 call on Friday morning. They found multiple ignition points inside the building, including trash bins on the first and second floors. The building sustained smoke and water damage.
A preliminary hearing for Blackwood’s charges is scheduled for Sept. 3 in the Ketchikan Courthouse.
Blackwood has been assigned a public defender. The office did not immediately return a call for comment.