FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) — Investigators used surveillance video to link a Fayetteville man to an apartment fire earlier this month, according to a preliminary arrest report.
George Shamma, 34, was arrested Wednesday (Sept. 13) in connection with arson, a Class D felony when the damage is more than $500 but less than $2,500, according to Arkansas Code Annotated 5-38-301.
The estimated damage from the fire was about $2,100.
Firefighters responded to the fire about 2:20 a.m. on Sept. 7 at 474 N. Coral Canyon Loop, where they found plastic sack filled with a bottle of paint thinner on the second-floor hallway, according to the report.
Video surveillance from inside the building showed Shamma walking on the first floor minutes before the fire alarm was activated. Shamma was wearing latex gloves and carrying a bottle in a plastic sack similar to what firefighters later found on the second floor.
Shamma, who lives on the building’s fourth floor, also was seen carrying a cigarette lighter.
Police later searched Shamma’s apartment and found a similar cigarette lighter and two latex gloves that were the same color as the gloves in the video, according to the report.
Shamma had been released Thursday from the Washington County Detention Center after posting a $25,000 bond. He has a hearing set for Oct. 18 in Washington County Circuit Court.