A person of interest in connection with a Monday morning fire said that he was on his way to get drugs when the fire started.
Flames engulfed the home, located off Brookside Boulevard, just before 6:30 a.m. The person of interest, whose identity was not immediately released, was taken into custody about 10:30 a.m., and arrested on an unrelated charge.
"There's three witnesses in that house that can tell you that I've been there all night and never left," he said. "I left a minute ago, to get somebody a 20 rock of crack."
Police said that though the man was originally arrested on a charge unrelated to the fire, he was later named as a person of interest.
Anna Lottridge was inside the home at the time of the blaze, she said she gathered her dogs and told her aunt to get out.
"The wall that I was laying against, and that she was laying against was the one that was engulfed in flames at the time," Lottridge said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
"(It was) like somebody threw a cocktail at the door," Lottridge said. "I think it was arson."
The person of interest said that he had nothing to do with the fire.
Crews closed Brookside Boulevard, between Plank Place and Wilson Road, while they worked to control the flames.
Watch 10TV News and refresh 10TV.com for more information.
Comments