WASHINGTON — A man who confessed to an ABC7 crew that he set the Rockville, Maryland, house fire the crew was covering has been charged with first-degree arson and three counts of reckless endangerment.
Montgomery County Fire spokesman Pete Piringer tweeted that Carlos Peralta. 27, has been charged.
#mcfrs Fire Investigators have arrested & Charged Carlos I PERALTA, 27, of Horners Ln, Rockville RE 11/19 house fire pic.twitter.com/3P8ahT6rRF
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) November 20, 2014
The fire occurred on South Horners Drive Wednesday.
The man someone walked up to the camera and said he had set the blaze.
“Me. Me; I set it off,” the man who identified himself as Carlos told ABC7.
“I just poured gasoline on the floor, set it on fire, and went to buy a drink and came back.”
He said he did it to bring attention to what he called deplorable living conditions at the home. After his taped confession, he walked up to Rockville police officers and told them he had set the fire.
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