Court documents filed this week indicate that the man accused of setting fire to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ office in Burlington last Friday is believed to have been hanging around the premises the day prior.
Investigators suggested that the man’s behavior might indicate “a potential planned act as opposed to a spontaneous incident.”
The suspect, Shant Michael Soghomonian, had been a “long-term guest at the Inn at Burlington” in South Burlington, a manager at the inn told police on Saturday.
Police later located the suspect at the Quality Inn in Shelburne, court records show.
Soghomonian, 35, was arrested Sunday on a federal charge of using fire to damage a building used in interstate commerce.
Security footage showed Soghomonian “spraying a liquid near the outer door” of Sanders’ third-floor office at One Church Street in the city’s downtown, “and then lighting the area with a handheld lighter,” according to a police press release.
“A blaze quickly began while Soghomonian departed via a staircase,” authorities wrote.
Several staff members were inside the office and the fire briefly blocked their exit, “endangering their lives,” Burlington police have previously said. Sanders was not at the office at the time of the fire.
Court filings detail how authorities came to locate and identify Soghomonian following the Friday attack.
Inn at Burlington staff, who recognized Soghomonian from an image released by police, told authorities that the man had stayed at the hotel for “several weeks” or “close to two months.”
Police matched Soghomian to security camera images from the Inn at Burlington, wearing what appeared to be a similar orange winter hat in which he was seen around the time of the arson.
In an affidavit, Eric Brimo, a special agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, wrote that Shelburne Police located Soghomonian’s Subaru Impreza, with New York plates, at the Quality Inn in Shelburne early Sunday morning.
Hotel staff informed police which room Soghomonian was staying in and that he was due for checkout later that morning, according to the affidavit.
After knocking on his door and requesting entrance, “officers then heard what sounded like the individual dragging heavy items near the door,” Brimo wrote.
Fearing a barricade, officers requested a key to the door but found their entrance blocked, according to the affidavit. Upon forcing entry, police took Soghomonian into custody.
No court date appears to have been set for Soghomonian. He’s currently held at Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, according to Vermont’s inmate locator.
