Police Investigate Possible Assault, Arson After Man Arrives at Washington Hospital on Fire

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The man who arrived earlier this week at a Spokane hospital while still on fire may have been intentionally lit on fire, according to court documents.

Providence Holy Family Hospital employees told police that Steven Maupin-Bureau, 23, arrived with burn injuries at the north Spokane hospital around 1:15 p.m. Monday in a private vehicle.

"Steven was screaming and on fire when he arrived," employees said in documents.

Authorities were told 30% of Maupin-Bureau's body was burned when he arrived at the hospital, court records said. Hospital staff intubated Maupin-Bureau before he was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Harborview staff told police Maupin-Bureau was in critical condition with second- and third-degree burns to his face.

The hospital was unable to provide the status of Maupin-Bureau on Saturday.

Holy Family Hospital surveillance showed two females, believed to be Maupin-Bureau's girlfriend and her mother, arrive at the hospital in a gold 2007 Chevrolet HHR with Maupin-Bureau inside. Maupin-Bureau's clothes reeked of a flammable substance that smelled like gasoline or kerosene, according to documents.



Maupin-Bureau's mother, Dawn Dawson, told officers Maupin-Bureau called her earlier that day begging her for money. Dawson said her son owes a lot of people money for drugs. She said she provided Maupin-Bureau with some money via an electronic cash application.

Officers located the Chevrolet parked in the area of Regal Street and Queen Avenue in northeast Spokane. People in the area told officers a person named "River" lit Maupin-Bureau on fire earlier in the day.

The owner of the Chevrolet told police she saw Maupin-Bureau exit the front door of a double-wide trailer at 3628 E. Princeton Ave. in Hillyard, screaming for help and that his skin was burned. Someone tried to extinguish Maupin-Bureau with a garden hose at the trailer.

The Chevrolet owner helped load Maupin-Bureau into the Chevrolet before the two other women took him to the hospital, documents said.

Neighbors told police "River" lives at the Princeton Avenue address. Officers identified a potential suspect, but that person has not been arrested or charged as of Sunday, according to jail records.

Officers secured the perimeter around the Princeton Avenue home and were unsuccessful in contacting occupants inside the residence. The branches of a short tree or bush outside the home were charred black and appeared to have been burnt at some point, court records said.

Police believe the crimes of first-degree assault and first-degree arson were committed and they continue to investigate.