Student arrested for arson attempt on fraternity

A Univeristy of Arizona Police Department officer was patrolling the area of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity at 1:13 a.m. on Friday when he saw an individual holding something with a small flame against the wall of the residence. He was in the alley of the north side of the house when he turned to see the officer. The man then started running out of the alley onto Vine Avenue.

The officer stopped the man and had him identify himself. When the officer asked him what he was doing in the alley, he said, “”I know it looked like I was setting fire to something but I wasn’t.””

Two other officers from UAPD were also on the scene. One of them went to the alley, tore the piece of tarp that was on fire off the wall and put out the small fire.

It appeared the tarp was a cover for a patio area and was connected to part of the house. One side of the tarp appeared to have obvious fire damage.

The officer made contact with a fraternity representative who said he was willing to press charges for any crime that had been committed. He also told the officer there were about 50 people in the residence at the time, that the tarp was set up for a party they were having the next night and that the value of the tarp was about $35.

The suspect said he had used a lighter to set the fire. Upon consent, the officer retrieved a green Bic lighter from the man’s pocket.

The suspect told the officer he was walking home from a party at an unknown location and got lost. He saw the fraternity and decided he wanted to do something to get back at them because some residents who lived there had been giving him a hard time because he became a pledge for a different fraternity instead of choosing theirs.

The man added that there were no threats made toward him, but he was tired of being taunted at school. He saw the tarp when walking through the alley and decided to set it on fire. He said he had no intentions to light the entire residence on fire or to harm anyone, but only wanted to damage the tarp.

The officer could smell alcohol on the suspect’s breath. He admitted to having a couple of drinks while he was at a party. The officer transported the suspect to Pima County Jail and submitted the green lighter and photographs of the site into UAPD’s evidence. A code of conduct was forwarded to the Dean of Students Office.