Global Courant
A 26-year-old man has been released after being falsely identified as the person who walked into a northwestern Indiana jail, poured accelerator on the floor and started a small fire, the court said.
Charges against the man were dismissed Wednesday, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported, citing court documents.
The charges were dismissed because the detective who filed the charges believes the man has been falsely identified as the perpetrator, according to a motion to dismiss filed Tuesday.
INDIANA OFFICIALS QUICKLY BLUES GOOD FIRE BEGINS IN PRISON LOBBY
A judge granted the motion Wednesday, court records show.
A man has been released from prison after being falsely identified as the suspect who set fire to the prison lobby.
Surveillance video showed a man entering the prison lobby, dousing the floor with gasoline, setting fire to a stack of papers, then throwing them to the floor, causing fire to spread through the lobby. It was quickly extinguished.
INDIANA PRISON DEAD, 2 OTHERS INJURED IN STATE PRISON FIRE
No one was injured.
A prison consultant estimated the fire damage to be between $6,500 and $8,500, according to a statement of probable cause.
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A witness told police that before the fire, the man came up to her at the front desk and spoke erratically about Indiana’s current and previous governors and President Joe Biden. He was carrying a one-gallon jug filled with a yellow liquid, she said.
