Man waving a hammer tried to burn elderly woman’s home, El Dorado sheriff’s officials say
Deputies arrested a man who reportedly waved a hammer and tried to set fire to an elderly woman’s home in El Dorado County, before he initiated a vehicle chase and crashed his pickup, officials said.
Brian Alan Steffes, 33, was arrested last week on suspicion of felony charges of attempted arson and making criminal threats, along with a misdemeanor charge of evading sheriff’s deputies, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday afternoon.
Steffes is the same man arrested in Sacramento County nearly a year ago after he surrendered to a police SWAT team, crisis negotiators and other officers. That morning, Steffes had entered Mercy Hospital of Folsom with a holstered gun, acting erratically destroying property, according to the Folsom Police Department.
On Thursday, Steffes remained in custody at the El Dorado County Jail. His bail amount was set at $177,000.
His latest arrest occurred on the night of March 4 in Mount Aukum. Sheriff’s deputies were called to the woman’s home after a man, later identified as Steffes, banged on her door.
Sheriff’s officials said Steffes waved a hammer and then poured gasoline on and near the woman’s home, before he lit pieces of paper on fire in an apparent attempt to ignite the gasoline.
Shortly after, Steffes drove away in a vehicle, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The deputies on their way to the woman’s home spotted the suspect vehicle and tried to pull over the white pickup. The suspect vehicle refused to stop, and pursuit began.
During the vehicle chase, pickup failed to negotiate a long sweeping turn and went off the road, before hitting an embankment, sheriff’s officials said. The impact of the crash caused the pickup to tip over on its side. Steffes was then taken into custody.
