SPRINGDALE (KFSM) — A Springdale man was arrested on suspicion of arson following a fire at a duplex on Backus Avenue Thursday (Sept. 3).
Landon Mark Bryant, 29, was booked into the Washington County Detention Center and is facing charges of felony arson and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, jail records show.
After fire crews arrived at the duplex at 1101 Backus Ave. at about 2 p.m., Bryant was taken to Northwest Medical Center to be evaluated because of possible smoke inhalation, according to his arrest report.
His neighbor told police Bryant had been banging on the walls with what he believed was a hammer and he appeared agitated possibly because his girlfriend and child left a few days prior, the arrest report states. Someone then alerted the neighbor the adjoining apartment was on fire, according to the report.
Fire crews told police Bryant told them he had been cleaning his residence with lighter fluid when his cigarette “accidentally” set the fluid on fire, the report states.
Inside, investigators found the fire had been started in a child’s crib and was consistent with having been ignited with lighter fluid, according to the report. They also found several holes in the wall and a golf club on the floor, the report states.
The damage to the duplex is estimated to exceed $15,000.
At the hospital Bryant told police he did not have any weapons, but he did have marijuana in his pocket, the report states.
Bryant told investigators he had “blacked out” and denied intentionally starting the fire, according to the report. Bryant is scheduled to go before a judge Sept. 7, jail records show.