37-year-old man charged with arson for fire at Islamic Center of Eastside in Bellevue; bail set at $1M

SEATTLE -- Wayne Isaac Wilson, 37, of Bellevue, was charged Tuesday with second-degree arson for the fire at the Islamic Center of the Eastside in Bellevue that heavily damaged the structure early Saturday morning.

Bail was increased to $1 million based on his lengthy criminal history. The prosecution also said Wilson was convicted of fourth-degree assault and disorderly conduct last year for an assault on a member of the Islamic Center of the Eastside.

According to court documents, a Bellevue police officer who was the first to arrive at the scene of the fire early Saturday morning "saw a subject lying on the ground in the far northeast corner of the property." When the officer approached him, "the subject calmly stated, 'I did it.' ... The subject then began to calmly and incoherently mumble to himself without taking his eyes off of the fire."

The man was Wilson, and he was arrested at that point.

The court documents did not disclose a possible motive for the arson.





The Islamic Center of the Eastside Imam Faizel said Wilson has visited the Mosque in the past for prayer, but that last July they got a restraining order against him because he was being violent and abusive during a prayer service.

Members of the mosque tell us that the last prayer was at 7:30 Friday night and everyone was out of the building by 8 p.m.