Mobile police have arrested a suspect accused of setting fires at two businesses on Government Boulevard earlier this week, according to a news release from Mobile Fire-Rescue.
Jaymar Pettis, 43, was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with two counts of second-degree arson and one count of third-degree criminal trespassing. Authorities said Pettis is responsible for roughly $50,000 in damage.
The case began Monday night, when Mobile Fire-Rescue crews were dispatched shortly before midnight after witnesses called 911 to report smoke coming from behind a McDonald’s on Government Boulevard, near Mobile Police Headquarters. The fire was in a storage unit belonging to the restaurant.
Crews had already been called to the same stretch of Government Boulevard earlier that evening for a fire at Luckie’s Beauty Salon, which sits in front of the storage unit. Investigators quickly determined both blazes had been deliberately set.
Second-degree arson carries serious penalties under Alabama law, and prosecutors can pursue additional charges as the investigation moves forward. The arrest came together within about a day of the first report, with police and fire investigators working the case jointly.
The damaged businesses are located along one of Mobile’s busiest commercial corridors, where several establishments share close quarters, increasing the risk when fires break out.
The charges
Under Alabama law, second-degree arson — intentionally damaging a building by starting or maintaining a fire or causing an explosion — is a Class B felony, punishable by two to 20 years in prison. Third-degree criminal trespass, which covers knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully on another’s property, is a Class C misdemeanor.
