For every problem, there's a solution. For a Phoenix man, the solution to a mold problem in a hotel in which he was staying was to set the building on fire, according to court documents obtained by New Times.
About 7:45 a.m. Saturday, 40-year-old Richard Arlin Goodwin called 9-1-1 to report a fire at his hotel at 2501 East Van Buren Street. The problem, however, was that Goodwin was the one who started the fire -- as was obvious to detectives who responded to the blaze and he later admitted.
Responding officers noticed the fire appeared to have been caused by a
wooden chair that had been set ablaze and put in a closet. Initially,
Goodwin lied to officers and said he had nothing to do with the blaze,
but when presented with some of the evidence he changed his tune.
Goodwin told the cops he'd started the fire to draw attention to a mold problem in the hotel caused by a water leak.
While being questioned, Goodwin also copped to previously setting
curtains on fire in another room of the same hotel. When initially
questioned about that fire, he told police he had nothing to do with it
and that it was the work of an unidentified black guy..
Goodwin admitted to police that in yet another incident he tried to set
an electrical outlet on fire at his old apartment in Buckeye.
Anyone else noticing a trend?
Police say the reason Saturday's fire didn't spread further is because a
hotel employee noticed the smoke and was able to remove the burning
chair from the closet before fire crews had arrived.
Goodwin's been charged with one count of arson of an occupied structure
for Saturday's blaze. The other fires to which he admitted starting
remain under investigation.