Man arrested for arson, assault in Ephrata on Thursday
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 months, 1 week AGO
A man was arrested after setting a fire at an apartment complex on Basin Street in Ephrata Thursday.
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Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | March 6, 2026 9:37 AM
EPHRATA — A transient was arrested Thursday morning after allegedly setting fire to an apartment building in Ephrata, according to a statement from the Ephrata Police Department.
At about 7 a.m. Thursday, the Ephrata Fire Department responded to a disturbance at an apartment complex in the 10 block of Basin Street Southwest, according to the statement. Dispatchers had advised police of a male suspect, later identified from video footage as Oscar Ramirez-Reyes, 39, a transient from the Ephrata area, starting a fire and attacking a tenant at the complex. When officers arrived, they found that Ramirez-Reyes had fled on foot.
After investigating the scene, EPD officers and Grant County Sheriff’s deputies began a search for Ramirez-Reyes.
After about 30 minutes, an officer spotted Ramirez-Reyes hiding behind the Safeway store in the 1100 block of Basin Street Southwest and kept him in sight until additional officers arrived with K-9 Officer Storm. Upon seeing K-9 Storm on the leash, Ramirez-Reyes immediately complied with the officers and was arrested without incident.
Meanwhile, firefighters with the Ephrata Fire Department and Grant County Fire District 13 verified that the fire was out and no longer a danger to the complex. The victim, a 66-year-old man, was transported to Samaritan Hospital, where he was treated for minor burns to his hand sustained while extinguishing the fire set to the door of his apartment.
Ramirez-Ramirez faces charges of first-degree arson, fourth-degree assault and third-degree malicious mischief, according to the statement.
As of Friday morning, Ramirez-Reyes was still listed as in custody at the Grant County Jail. No bail has been set.
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