Cops zoom in on suspected arson

Police investigators have found probable cause to believe there was a strong motive behind the fire incident that razed down the residence of Lucia Aldan Piteg in Dandan Tuesday night.

Detective Mark S. Taisacan, in a document submitted to the Superior Court, stated that the suspect, Guodong Ma, had confessed to the crime.

Mr. Ma allegedly claimed responsibility for mistakenly lighting a gas container inside the house, instead of the cigarette he held on his left hand.

In an interesting twist of events, police also discovered during the course of the investigation that Mr. Ma, now facing arson and criminal mischief charges before the local courts, is an illegal alien in the Commonwealth.

According to Department of Public Safety spokesperson Cecil Celes, the defendant walked from Koblerville to Dandan the night of the fire in search for his girlfriend, Ms. Piteg.

Mr. Ma reportedly reached his girlfriend’s house in Dandan which he found to be unoccupied. He then checked the back door which was unlocked.

Before entering the structure, he told police he took a gas container from a picnic table nearby and brought it inside, as he also held on to a piece of cigarette.

The suspect disclosed to investigators he had intended to light his cigarette but instead succeeded in igniting fire to the gas container.

As the object started to burn on his hand, he reportedly threw it to the floor, and as a result, gasoline spilled all over the house, giving birth to a full blown fire.

In panic, Mr. Ma started to flee the burning place as neighbors called 911 for assistance.

Associate Judge Edward Manibusan has set a $10,000 bond for the defendant’s temporary release.

The court, however, discounted charges of burglary and disturbing the peace against the defendant, as a result of the incident that razed down a one-storey tin structure in Dandan.

The day after the fire, police found Mr. Ma sprawled and unconscious in front of the BK Poker in Koblerville, bleeding on the forehead.

Police reports said the Chinese male apparently engaged in a fist fight with one of the fire victims, who all along suspected him guilty of the crime.

Ms. Piteg, in an interview with police, also admitted she had reason to believe it was Mr. Ma who initiated the catastrophe that lead to the demise of their structure.

Investigations also revealed that the suspect was apparently jealous over his girlfriend’s communication with her husband the previous day.

Mr. Ma allegedly threatened that if he couldn’t have Ms. Piteg all to himself, that no one will, not even her legal husband.