SEATTLE — A 42-year-old man is accused of locking himself inside a Seattle Buddhist temple during a mental health crisis and setting fire to the building, then fleeing and breaking into a home nearby on Dec. 31, 2023, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Waylon Williams, of Richland, Washington, is charged with first-degree reckless burning, second-degree burglary and residential burglary, charging documents state. His bail was set at $40,000.
Since 2001, various Washington courts have issued more than 50 warrants for Williams’ arrest, according to charging documents.
Around 11 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, Seattle Fire Department crews responded to the Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple in the First Hill neighborhood for reports of a fire that started inside the building. Community support has been pouring in since the fire.
On surveillance footage, Seattle Police Department (SPD) officers saw a man hanging around the temple’s entrance before the fire and attempting to open the doors, charging documents state. At some point, the man entered the building and was seen quickly leaving the building just before 11 p.m.
The man, later identified as Williams, allegedly told police that he was on meth and believed that federal government officials or gang members were following him, so he entered the temple for safety, documents state.
Inside, Williams allegedly told police he found bottles of liquor and propane tanks, and that he was moving items around to barricade himself in the basement when the fire began.
The temple housed many historical archives that had not yet been digitized, according to a temple board member. The archives are described as irreplaceable and many were lost in the New Year’s Eve fire, said board member Alex Sakamoto.
As the fire inside the temple grew, Williams escaped the building and broke into a nearby home, charging documents state.
A woman arrived to her neighborhood and saw her home had been broken in to. When an officer assisted her inside, Williams was reportedly inside the home, throwing items around the house and into walls.
Two days later, the fire reignited at the temple on Tuesday, further destroying the historical documents and additional items belonging to a local Boys Scouts troop.
The Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple holds a lot of history. It was founded in 1901 and Boy Scout Troop 252, the last historically Japanese American troop in Seattle, has been meeting there since 1939.
Scoutmaster Rob Ketcherside said the troop’s gear was kept in the basement, where the New Year's Eve fire started. All of the troop's gear was destroyed.
So far, community members have helped raised over $3,000 for the the troop to purchase new gear.
Police did not refer to the fire as a hate crime investigation, according to the prosecuting attorney’s office. However, the case could be reviewed if police find and refer information that support a possible hate crime.
Williams arraignment is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 17 at the King County Courthouse.
