Newport — A 45-year-old Eugene woman was arrested late Monday night after allegedly pouring gasoline on the Avery Building in Newport and attempting to ignite it with a cigarette, according to the Newport Police Department.

Officers responded to 120 NE Avery Street around 11:25 p.m. on April 6, 2026, after receiving reports of a woman who had just purchased gasoline at a nearby Circle K and doused the building with it.

When police arrived, they found Bridgette Sherman standing within a few feet of an empty 2-gallon gas can. The gasoline had been poured across the building’s exterior and the adjacent sidewalk. Lying right next to the can was a cigarette completely saturated in gasoline, its tip burned — but it failed to ignite the fuel. The building, which was unoccupied at the time, sustained no damage.

The Avery Building houses multiple government service agencies, including the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS), Community Services Consortium, and WorkSource Oregon.

Investigators later learned Sherman is herself an employee of the Oregon Department of Human Services. She was taken into custody without incident and lodged at the Lincoln County Jail on a charge of Attempted Arson in the First Degree.

Newport police were assisted at the scene by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and the Newport Fire Department. The case remains under active investigation.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Officer Jack Grippin at 541-574-3348, call the Newport Police Tip Line at 541-574-5455, text a tip to 541-270-1856, or email [email protected].