Neighbors say they heard sirens late last night then looked outside to see a massive scene on Mayburn Street.
“I saw fire coming out the windows and the roof,” said Daniel Roberts of what he saw happening at his neighbor’s house.
The homeowner told firefighters he came home from work and found the door to his house open and in flames. The fire marshal says someone set the house on fire on purpose.
“It looks like he set clothing on the stove, lit it on fire, and then spread those items throughout the house,” said Douglas Bailey, Dearborn Heights Fire Marshal.
The questions remained: Who set it and why?
Soon police were called to a nearby business.
“They did not know his intentions or motives. They were definitely scared,” said Nicholas Kallabat, manager of the Dearborn Heights Liquor and Wine Shoppe.
Kallabat, the manager of the family business, says a man threatened his mom and brother as they worked.
“They were like either he is drunk or on something," Kallabat said. "He doesn’t need anything else to drink. They tried to refuse the sale and he made another threat."
They called police who responded and stopped the man.
“They saw there were burns on his clothing," Bailey said. "He was acting suspicious."
Police say they arrested him and found he had items stolen out of the burning house in his possession. They say the suspect did not know his victim and appears to have chosen the house he allegedly burglarized and burned at random.
Neighbors say the suspect destroyed the house of a good man.
