The man accused of setting one Vancouver police officer on fire and singeing another in the city’s Downtown Eastside last year has pleaded guilty to one of two charges against him.
Jordan Mutual, 41, was scheduled to stand trial in Vancouver provincial court Monday on two separate counts of assaulting a peace officer.
Instead, he entered a guilty plea to one count of assault with a weapon of a peace officer, the BC Prosecution Service confirmed.
On April 10, 2025, the Vancouver Police Department said a suspect “used a flammable substance” to set a foot patrol officer’s uniform on fire on East Hastings near Carrall Street.
Police said the incident occurred when the suspect, who initially tried to run away after being stopped for jaywalking, was being taken into custody by two officers.
The pair had been patrolling as part of Task Force Barrage, an initiative to boost police presence in the area and crack down on organized crime.
One officer actually caught on fire, while the second got singe marks on their uniform, police said.
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The pair was able to extinguish the flames themselves.
After the officers called for backup, Mutual was arrested nearby and treated in hospital for burns.
At the time, police said he was wanted province-wide on warrants involving 10 outstanding charges.
Mutual was previously the subject of a successful civil forfeiture action by the province, over stacks of cash seized in two separate incidents.
According to a notice of civil claim filed on May 6, 2020, the VPD saw Mutual riding a bicycle on the sidewalk in the zero-block of East Hastings Street without proper lighting or a helmet on Nov. 3, 2019.
Mutual, who also had bear spray sticking out of the waistband of his pants, was arrested on an outstanding warrant for possession for the purpose of trafficking.
A search found a hip pouch containing $5,645 in Canadian currency and $800 in U.S. currency, which was seized.
On Feb. 17, 2020, Mutual was arrested for a breach, according to the civil claim.
A search found $6,580 in Canadian cash and $5 in U.S. cash in a shirt pocket, along with a backpack containing 14 cell phones, according to the documents.
Testing of the money confirmed fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine contamination on each of the samples, the claim stated.
The claim further alleged the cash had been used by Mutual to engage in unlawful activities including “possession for the purpose of trafficking and trafficking controlled substances.”
When no response to the civil claim was filed as of April 23, 2021, the court ordered all the cash forfeited.
The court has ordered a pre-sentence report for Mutual, who has been in custody since his April 2025 arrest.
His next court appearance is Sept. 21 to confirm the report has been prepared, and to schedule a date for a sentencing hearing.
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