Two people were arrested in connection with a car fire in Hoquiam just after midnight Saturday and a third suspect, described by Hoquiam police as a former girlfriend of the car owner’s male companion, will likely face charges in connection with the arson, according to Sgt. Shane Krohn with the Hoquiam Police Department.

The third suspect, a 36-year-old Hoquiam woman, allegedly had knowledge of the arson but was not at the scene at the time, police said. “The prosecutor will review the investigation and make a decision on if she will be charged as the other two with direct involvement,” said Hoquiam Police Sergeant Shane Krohn. “At the very least she will be submitted to the Hoquiam Municipal Court for the misdemeanor crime of vehicle prowl.”

The car’s owner told investigators she and her male acquaintance had recently received threatening messages from a female. Those threatening messages were taken into evidence, which led to a 22-year-old Hoquiam woman at a Hoquiam address who allegedly sent the threatening messages, according to Krohn. After an interview she was arrested and booked into the Grays Harbor County Jail where it is expected she will be charged with first degree arson.

Hoquiam firefighters, along with two Hoquiam Police fire investigators who happened to be on duty at the time, investigated. Several items were seized as evidence, said Krohn. One of the items seized appeared to involve an ignition source that had been left behind by the suspect. Officers were later able to track this item to a flammable liquid sold at a local store, leading to the actual store where it had been purchased.

“A 26-year-old Aberdeen man had been picked up in Aberdeen on an unrelated warrant and was subsequently interviewed and was held on other charges and will be later transported to the Grays Harbor County Jail where he is expected to be charged with first degree arson,” said Krohn.

The car, a Volkswagen Rabbit, was a complete loss, and a vehicle parked next to it suffered several thousand dollars damage, according to Krohn. The flames blocked an entrance to four apartment units, located in the 400 block of Queen Avenue, trapping tenants in their apartments, but there were no injuries and no damage to the apartment building itself.