Stalking victim claims accused arsonist threatened her online

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- The woman allegedly stalked and harassed by a man now accused of arson and 5 counts of attempted murder told KOIN 6 News he started sending threatening messages online earlier this year.

The woman who spoke with KOIN 6 News -- who knew the suspect, Eric Alexander, for 15 years and briefly dated him -- did not live at the house. But, she said, the threats and harassment began after she ended their relationship this summer.

Alexander was arrested Friday night after allegedly tossing a Molotov cocktail-like device onto the front porch of a home in the 2200 block of SE Salmon very early on Thursday. One resident tried to put the flames out with a fire extinguisher as several others were asleep in the home. When fire crews arrived, they found the porch fire had spread to other parts of the house.

Everyone managed to get out safely but the house suffered about $50,000 damage, according to the probable cause arrest document obtained by KOIN 6 News.

That home belongs to someone who is close to Alexander's ex-girlfriend.

"I never gave him their address. So, you know, I don't know how Eric found it," she said.

Alexander was really hurt by the end of the relationship "and felt like I had sabotaged, like, some of his -- he's a musician and he would tour and felt like I had sabotaged, like, his work, basically. And then what really kicked it off in October was that I refused to see him," she said.

"When the kind of stalking and harassing behaviors started, I didn't really know how seriously to take a lot of the threats."

The messages "were specific in that they would say, like, 'I'm going to, like, stab you and you're going to bleed out on the street.' They're specific like that," said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for her safety. "None of them said anything about trying to burn down anyone's home."

Over the course of Thursday and Friday, tips and leads led detectives to Alexander, who was arrested Friday night.

"Anytime we have a targeted attack like that in general, something that involves an incendiary device, but let alone when it's targeted, that is something that, we want to get that resolution to that as quickly as possible," PF&R Senior Investigator Lt. Jason Andersen told KOIN 6 News.

He was booked into the Multnomah County Jail on 5 counts of attempted murder, 4 counts of first-degree arson, two counts each of stalking, telephonic harassment and menacing plus one count of criminal mischief.

The 42-year-old suspect is expected to make his first appearance in a Multnomah County court on Tuesday.

Asked if she's worried Alexander will be released, the woman said she didn't know.

"I don't think they would release him because of the charges that he has. but I guess if he was to be released, I would be pretty worried about that. Yeah."