Police Say Teen Firebug Committed Arson On CWU Campus

A Central Washington University (CWU) student is facing arson charges after police say he set several small fires inside the school's dormitories earlier this month.

The Ellensburg Daily Record says campus police responded to Dugmore Hall on Monday, Dec. 8 after a dormitory advisor discovered burned materials inside a laundry room and attached to the door of a student's room.

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After arriving on scene, a student also reportedly told officers that they had seen someone lighting papers on fire inside an elevator at the residence hall.

Investigators quickly identified a suspect, 18-year-old Brayden Robert Todd, who reportedly admitted to starting the fires and was arrested on Tuesday, Dec. 9 and booked into the Kittitas County Jail for suspicion of first-degree arson and being a minor in possession of marijuana.

At his initial appearance in Kittitas County Superior Court on Wednesday, Dec. 10, Todd entered pleas of not-guilty to both charges and Judge Chris Herion established his bail at $35,000.

Herion also ordered Todd be temporarily barred from returning to the CWU campus unless accompanied by an official escort.

Todd has since bonded out of jail ahead of his trial, which Herion set for Feb, 2, 2026.