Oakdale Woman Convicted for Attempted Arson

An Oakdale woman who started a fire in her apartment in February has been convicted of second-degree attempted arson.

Patricia Queen Williams, 39, was found trying to put out the fire and told police she “didn’t want to hurt anyone else,” according to the criminal complaint.

Oakdale police at about 4:20 p.m. Feb. 1 were called to an apartment building at the 4800 block of Grenwich Trail.

The caller identified herself at Williams, who told the dispatcher she was going to start the building on fire, the complaint says.

Officers arrived and found a couch had been set on fire; Williams was trying to put it out.

She told police she wanted to harm herself but not anyone else, according to the complaint. At least three other people were in the fourplex at the time.

While interviewing another individual on an unrelated matter, Williams approached an Oakdale investigator and said she wanted to “own up” to what she did, “I got drunk. I lit our couch,” according to the complaint.