Lawsuit: Kent police kept strip mall arson suspect in jail despite evidence

A federal lawsuit says a Des Moines grandmother was kept in jail and home confinement for eight months for an arson at a strip mall she didn't commit because a Kent fire investigator withheld evidence that could exonerate her.

Linda Poplawski was shopping at a Dollar Tree store on Pacific Highway South in Kent in 2016 when she reported a fire to employees. She was arrested after a store worker told police — falsely, Poplawski says — that she had threatened to burn the store down.

The flames escalated into a 3-alarm fire that destroyed three businesses and damaged others.

That same day, however, an anonymous caller told police that a gang member named Michael Poasa admitted setting the fire as a diversion while shoplifting. Poplawski's attorney, Sean Gillespie, says Pedersen failed to provide information about it to prosecutors.

As a result, it was not provided to Poplawski's defense attorneys until the eve of trial — after she had been in jail for a month and on electronic home monitoring for seven more. Prosecutors dropped the case when the evidence came to light.

Pedersen did not immediately respond to a request for comment placed through his employer, the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority.

Cox Media Group