A 26-year-old individual was recently exonerated and released from custody after being incorrectly identified as the perpetrator in a fire incident at a northwestern Indiana jail. Court records reveal that the charges were dropped on Wednesday following a motion filed by the investigating detective, who concluded that the man had been mistakenly identified.
Security footage captured a man entering the jail's lobby, drenching the floor with what appeared to be gasoline, igniting a stack of papers, and throwing them onto the saturated floor. The resulting flames spread quickly across the lobby but were promptly extinguished, preventing any injuries.
A jail consultant estimated the cost of the fire damage to be between $6,500 and $8,500. A witness who interacted with the man prior to the incident reported to police that he was behaving erratically, discussing the current and former Indiana governors, as well as President Biden. The witness noted that he was carrying a gallon-sized container filled with a yellow liquid, presumed to be gasoline.
