Kennewick man accused of setting fire to RV then climbing on top while it burned

An argument escalated into a man standing on top of a burning RV while the animals inside died near downtown Kennewick on Tuesday night.

Philip B. De Lury, 37, of Kennewick, is in jail after a dramatic confrontation about 7:20 p.m. at 13 E. 5th Avenue reduced the RV he’d been living into a pile of smoking wreckage and shut down part of Washington Street.

De Lury was living in the RV parked on his girlfriend’s parents’ property when some items went missing from their garage, court documents said.

The woman’s parents asked her to talk with De Lury about missing property. But De Lury refused to open the RV door for her. She broke a window to confront him, and he became angry and sprayed her in the face with pepper spray, she told officials.

Police arrived to find her screaming in pain. And as they were talking with her, De Lury allegedly set the RV on fire and climbed up on top, said court documents.

He eventually came down but held a piece of broken glass to his throat, said documents.

After 45 minutes of negotiating with officer, De Lury dropped the glass and surrendered.

By the time firefighters were able to douse the blaze, the RV was destroyed, along with a second RV, a car, shed and garage, court documents said. There also was significant smoke and water damage to the house.

Several cats inside the RV died in the fire, according to court documents.

De Lury was booked into the Benton County jail on suspicion of second-degree assault, first-degree arson, first-degree animal cruelty, obstruction and resisting arrest.