Pasco man clubbed woman in head and then burned her stuff, police said

A Pasco man clubbed a woman in the head and then burned her backpack and sleeping bag, police said.

The attack apparently happened at 6:30 a.m. Monday near Western Materials in the 300 block of South Fifth Avenue, Pasco police said in a Facebook post.

Randy Scott Vanderveer, 40, approached a woman from behind and struck her in the head with a piece of wood. After knocking her to the ground, he grabbed her backpack, and threw her pack and personal belongings onto a pile of wooden pallets.

He set the pallets on fire and said, “I hope you die,” and then left.

Firefighters and police found the blaze and the woman on the ground. Her backpack and sleeping bag were destroyed.

While Vanderveer had taken off, the victim’s detailed description led officers to him, police said.

He appeared in court Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of second-degree assault and first-degree arson.

He insisted on telling Judge Bruce Spanner that he was innocent of the accusations. He claimed he was somewhere else at the time the attack happened, and his phone and camera footage would prove that.

Vanderveer claims the woman was a former girlfriend, who was mad because, “I have someone else and I don’t want her.”

Prosecutors asked for $25,000 bail, saying that Vanderveer has seven prior felony convictions, including criminal mischief, drug possession and second-degree burglary. He also has 11 misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor convictions, and 12 bench warrants have been issued for him in the past when he failed to come to court.

Spanner set bail at $10,000.

Police are asking anyone with information about the crime to call the non-emergency dispatch number at 509-628-0333 or email Officer Mike Andrews at andrewsm@pasco-wa.gov and reference case 20-20832.