News Former Seattle Man Faces Freaky Arson Charges in San Francisco
posted by on February 28 at 12:42 PM
Last month, 47-year-old Lance Farber, a Seattle chiropractor, moved to San Francisco with his partner John Raheim, who’d taken a job as the City’s planning director.
Last Friday, after what Farber’s lawyer identifies as a “lovers’ quarrel” between the two men, Lance Farber set fire to the mattress the couple had been sleeping on, in the house they’d been provided by the city while searching for a permanent home.
Now Lance Farber has been charged with felony arson, and is being held on $1 million bail.
Adding irony to injury: The house the men had been inhabiting—and that Farber’s accused of torching—is the Dennis T. Sullivan Memorial Fire Chief’s Home, a city landmark built in 1923 to honor a fire chief engineer killed in the 1906 earthquake.
SFGate has the full funky story here.
And here’s Lance Farber’s website. (He seems pretty New-Age woo-woo for an alleged arsonist.)
Thank you, Slog tipper David.
Meh. I'd hit it.
Bipolar.
It's the woo-woos you have to watch out for.
Flamer.
Hey, I sent that story to Dan 3 days ago!
Hey, whatever happened to that Nicholas guy with the red car that went missing in SEA a few weeks ago? Did he ever turn up? Did I miss an update? I was on vacation for a few days.
Not being a jerk, just wondering.
I was wondering if you guys were gonna SLOG this one when I read it. Nationally if this story gets picked up, I'm a little nervous for the "see how the gays behave?!" angle it could have... but I don't think anyone's batting an eye here.
The more interesting aspect of the story here is, for San Franciscan's at least, the spotlight this story shines on another big city executive perk during a time of (more than usual) severe fiscal crisis. Running the same day the the million-dollar city hall Alioto wheelchair ramp and the 20+ new "Environmental Impact Analysts" or whatever Newsome is bring on a 6 figures a head... meanwhile, 500 teaching positions in the area are being slashed... we're pretty fucked.
If I lived in Berkeley, I'd probably being shopping for vintage Goldwater bumper stickers on Ebay by now.
If I were him, I would have lied my ass off. I would have blamed it on smoking in bed.
"Oops, Mr. Fireman, I dropped my ciggy!"
@8 has it.
#8 - That might'a worked, if he didn't trash all the furniture and coat the walls with crushed tomatoes(!?).
I feel bad for him.
I love it when they call domestic violence a lover's quarrel. It's like being in 1950.
#11 - why feel bad for him, Poe?
Hmmm... (from Lance's website)...
"The Gentle Wind Project is a not-for-profit world healing organization that has developed a unique healing technology. Click here to find out more."
I have never thought of arson as "healing technology." I guess this puts Lance in the same boat as Briana Waters.
Thank you #12! This is not a "lover's quarrel" or arson, but domestic violence.
As the article points out it's not a "typical arson" case. Sadly, it is an extremely typical domestic violence case. It is too bad the reporter doesn't recognize it for what it is. Hopefully the prosecutor and this "arsonist"'s partner will.
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