The man accused of intentionally setting fire to a Southwest Portland apartment complex last week made his first court appearance Wednesday, pleading not guilty to the charges.
A judge ordered 30-year-old Garrett Repp be held without a bail until his next appearance, on the motion of a 'preliminary violent felony determination.’
Repp was arrested Thursday evening on 31 charges, including multiple counts of first-degree arson, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief in the fire at The May Apartments on May 16.
The four-alarm fire displaced the residents living in 42 units, and several pets were killed.
Former tenants at ‘The May’ say Repp banged on doors and falsely pulled the fire alarm on several occasions before the fire.
Court records show the property owner, Skynat, had taken steps to evict him prior to the fire. On May 10, a judge signed an eviction order for failure to pay rent.
One tenant who lived above Repp shared a video of him in the stairwell carrying a sword, as well as a text showing that she shared the video with the building manager on April 17.
She's now asking for answers, saying this could have been prevented.
“This was predictable. I called this months ago that he was conditioning the tenants and the fire department to not care when he actually did this. I said that four months ago,” said Gabby Kielhorn.
This is exactly what he wanted. Predictable, preventable, premeditated," she added.
This is also not Repp's first run-in with the law. He was previously arrested for disorderly conduct in December.
He was also arrested for criminal trespassing twice in April. In those incidents, records show that his ex-girlfriend alleges he stalked her, broke into her apartment while she was sleeping and abused her.
The woman was granted a restraining order from Repp on May 15, just a day before the fire.
KATU reached out to the building manager from Skynat who received that text message in April and she declined to comment.
Repp is scheduled for a remote hearing on May 30th.
He’ll be back in court for an arraignment on June 6th.