A New York man was arrested this week and charged with arson after allegedly setting fire to a state trooper’s childhood home. All because of a traffic ticket.
Tyler Williams, 26, was booked into the Orange County Jail on Wednesday on suspicion of setting fire to the Warwick mansion owned by his father, a state trooper, in revenge, Orange County District Attorney David Hubler said. He was reportedly imprisoned.
Williams was pulled over by an anonymous police officer in Middletown on the night of Dec. 20 and issued multiple tickets.
Early the next morning, the house where the officer grew up and where his father still lives goes up in flames.
His father and two other people were in the home at the time, but were able to escape and were not harmed. ABC7 reported.
“I’m very upset because we’ve been neighbors for 20 years and they’re great people,” resident Mildred Garcia told local television. “I just felt sad.”
Investigators quickly determined the fire was intentionally set.
What followed was a five-month multi-agency investigation during which more than 20 search warrants were executed, Hubler said.
The DA’s office said Williams, of Middletown, posted personal information online about the officer who handed him the traffic ticket, including his current address, just hours after he was pulled over and before the house fire broke out. As a result of the investigation, it became clear that the search had been carried out.
During a search, Williams allegedly discovered the police officer’s father’s home and started the inferno there, possibly in revenge for a traffic violation, believing it to be the police officer’s current address.
He was charged with second-degree arson and is being held without bail. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear in court again on May 21.
The commander of the New York State Police officers involved said Williams’ arrest is a sign that law enforcement will “stop at nothing to hold dangerous criminals who endanger the lives of others accountable for their actions.” ”, he said.
“We will not tolerate this type of reprehensible conduct in which law enforcement personnel are targeted simply for doing their jobs,” Commander Michael Samnick said in a statement.
It’s unclear how many tickets Williams was given or what violations or fines he was issued.
“It’s incomprehensible to think that a traffic ticket could put our families and homes at such risk,” Warwick Police Chief John Rader told ABC7. .
