A 52-year-old man was arrested Monday for arson, after a fire destroyed a backhoe in the 2300 block of South Walnut Street, according to the Bloomington Police Department.
Monday morning the Bloomington Fire Department responded to a fire, and two explosions behind a church. After firefighters put out a suspicious fire that destroyed a John Deere 310SL backhoe valued at 135,000-dollars an investigator from the Bloomington Fire Department called the police.
Police were able to watch surveillance video from a nearby church, and saw a man in the area for an extended period of time before seeing a fire.
The suspect was seen carrying a bucket and a sprayer like the type used for weedkiller. Fire investigators suspect that an accelerant was used to start the fire, and the character of the fire spread was an indication.
Several police recognized the man in the video, and he was soon found within 8 hours of the fire. The suspect is being charged with level 4 felony arson. The man’s address is listed on the arrest log as “transient.”
