Two promising young skateboarders from Yakima County, Washington have been arrested and charged in connection with a string of arson fires. Investigators are now trying to determine if another arson fire, set just days after the two suspects were arrested, is connected to the young men’s skating group, identified in court documents as the "Mayday-Mob."
"It’s kind of coincidental that early this morning we have a fire and they made two arrests earlier during the week. So I think there's still more to come," West Valley Fire Chief Dave Leitch said in a March 30 interview with KNDO.com.
According to the Yakima County Sheriff's Office, the previous arson cases, dating back to April 2006, caused nearly $100,000 in damages. Investigators said they began investigating the two teens, identified in court documents as Nicholas Heilman, 18, and Eric Protsman, 19, after an informant came forward and identified them as the arsonists.
Last week Heilman was arraigned on five counts of second-degree arson for fires set between April 2006 and October 2007. Days later, Protsman was charged with one count of second-degree arson.
According to the police affidavit, Heilman and possibly other members of the Mayday-Mob (who have been identified in court documents but have not yet been arrested) allegedly set fire to 1,800 wooden fruit bins at1400 Gordon Road on Aug. 27, 2007. The damage has been estimated at $76,863.
Other fires Heilman and possibly others are suspected of committing include an April 2006 blaze that destroyed 50 feet of shrubbery and a fence at 1624 S. 10th Ave., an Aug. 26, 2007 fire that destroyed a row of shrubs at 607 N. 58th Ave., a second fire that same day that destroyed shrubs at Robertson Elementary School, an Oct. 6, 2007 fire that damaged a power pole and destroyed a row of shrubs, and the Oct. 31, 2007 firebombing of a motor vehicle at 603 S. 10th Ave.
As of Friday, Protsman had only been charged in connection with the fire at Robertson Elementary School; however investigators have not ruled out other charges and say they could make more arrests.
"By the nature of an ongoing investigation, it means it's still going on and more arrests are possible, but we can't say much at this time," Ron Melcher, Fire Marshal of the Yakima Police Department, told KHQ.com.
In court documents, investigators identified a Web site at MySpace.com, located at www.myspace.com/maydaymob, as belonging to the Mayday-Mob. The "About Me" section of the profile reads in part:
"What's up guys. This is the official MAYDAY-MOB site. MAYDAY-MOB is a group of friends traveling wherever we can to have fun, be funny and rip it up on our skateboards…"
The group's interests are listed as, "skateboarding, having fun, pulling hilarious pranks, rolling bowling balls down hills into traffic, tricking McDonalds into giving us free food, more pranks, throwing parties, camping at places we shouldn’t (OUTSIDE OF A SCHOOL), and much much more."
Protsman allegedly has several profiles on the Internet, including one at MySpace.com and another at Asianave.com. Within the latter profile, he states a local skate shop recently sponsored him. Judging by the videos on his MySpace page, Protsman had a promising professional skating career ahead of him. It remains unclear how his arrest will affect those aspirations.
Another arson fire that broke out yesterday and destroyed 200 fruit bins is under investigation. At this time it remains unclear if it is related to the other fires; however investigators say they have not ruled out that possibility.
Both Protsman and Heilman are being held in lieu of a $100,000 bail. The two suspects are also awaiting trial on unrelated charges, involving the Nov. 25, 2007 burglary of a fruit warehouse. Police say the two broke into the building and ate apples while skateboarding.