CHEYENNE, Wyo. – A suspect was arrested by the Cheyenne Police Department after reportedly telling authorities that he set fire to his apartment complex because he was “tired of his neighbors harassing him.”
According to court papers, Patrick Dotson made his initial court appearance in Laramie County Circuit Court on May 4th to hear the felony charge of 1st Degree Arson read to him by Judge Denise Nau.
The police say that in the evening hours of May 3rd, they were dispatched to a call of a structure fire at an apartment complex located on the 4600 block of Hilltop Ave in Cheyenne.
Authorities report that Dotson called 9-11 from a nearby gas station and allegedly told them that he had started the fire because he was tired of his neighbors harassing him.
According to court papers, Dotson lived in the apartment complex which is said to consist of 24 apartments that are occupied by a mixture of families and single persons.
Police say that one of their officers made contact with Dotson at the gas station he had phoned 9-11 soon after he made the phone call.
Authorities allege that Dotson stated that he started the fire 30 minutes earlier by setting multiple bundles of paper on fire inside of his apartment. Dotson reportedly told police that he then set the bundles of paper throughout his apartment on his couch, bed and other items that he considered to be flammable surfaces.
“Dotson stated that he set the fire because he was angry and fed up from his neighbors being loud for the past couple hours before he set the fire,” the police officer who interviewed Dotson reports.
According to an affidavit filed in the case, it is alleged that Dotson told the officer that he believes that he is constantly being harassed by law enforcement, the fire department and the public in general.
An individual who is convicted of 1st Degree Felony Arson in the state of Wyoming can face up to twenty-years in prison.
All of those cited or arrested are presumed innocent until convicted in a court of law. Charges are subject to change following official filings from the Laramie County District Attorney’s Office.
