A 26-year-old Princeton, Indiana man was arrested and charged with arson after setting his maroon 1996 Buick on fire, according to court documents. The man told police that people were stealing from his car, but he thought if he burned it, there would be nothing left to steal.
As the man watched the car burn, he told police, “I hoped the explosions would be bigger.”
Police responded to Crawford Apartments around 12:30 a.m. on February 12, 2023, to check on a suspicious person standing next to a car and yelling about someone stealing from him. But, when the police arrived, the car was on fire.
The man told police he set it on fire so people couldn’t steal items from the vehicle. And within a couple of minutes, the car was fully engulfed, and emitting small explosions. A crowd began to watch but were told to go back into the apartment building for their own safety. Some were making videos of the fire.
The man admitted to police how he set the car on fire. At that time, he was placed in handcuffs and informed he’d be charged with arson.
Firefighters responded to the address in the 2400 block of South Henderson Street and extinguished the blaze.
The suspect is being charged with arson, a level 4 felony; unlawful possession of a hypodermic syringe; a level 6 felony, and possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor.
Police found the man in possession of a yellow substance, and an air pistol. The yellow substance was put into evidence, and the air pistol was put into evidence for safekeeping.
