A man from South Carolina was questioned by the police after three fires were started at an apartment complex located approximately 12 miles outside of Nashville. He claimed to have witnessed a Black man setting the third fire, which ultimately resulted in the complete destruction of an entire apartment building.
On Saturday, December 14th, Joshua Spain, a 26-year-old individual, was taken into custody and faced several charges. These charges include two counts of reckless arson, one count of felony arson, disorderly conduct, making a false report, and disorderly conduct.
Firefighters responded to a call regarding two dumpster fires at an apartment complex in Antioch, Tennessee. After successfully extinguishing the smaller blaze, they were unexpectedly summoned back to the scene when one of the buildings in the complex became engulfed in flames. Despite the challenge, the firefighters persevered throughout the night to contain the larger fire. Thankfully, there were no reported injuries during the incident.
During their investigation, Spanish authorities provided a significant lead by identifying a man dressed in dark clothing and wearing a black cowboy hat. This individual was spotted at the apartments during each of the fires. Surveillance footage captured the suspect walking towards the building with a large black item shortly before midnight on December 4th.
According to the documents, the suspect was observed leaving the area a few minutes later, with “fire growth visible in the background.”
According to officials, the man wearing a cowboy hat reentered the building approximately 10 minutes later and was seen carrying multiple large pieces of cardboard. At around 12:40 a.m. on December 6, he was observed leaving the scene, with his gaze fixed on the spreading fire.
According to the police, Spain gave a detailed explanation of how the apartment fire was initiated, but he claimed that it was not started by him. He accused a Black man of starting the fire using an antifreeze bottle and a green lighter.
Spain stated that he attempted to intervene when the man added cardboard to further fuel the fire. He asserted that he was physically attacked during the incident. Furthermore, Spain informed investigators that he dialed 911 in order to report the fires, but he abruptly ended the call after providing a description of the falsely accused Black suspect.
According to the police, the footage did not provide any evidence of the presence of a Black male in the area before or during the three fire incidents.
According to video evidence, witness statements, and the suspect’s confession, the police have determined that Spain is responsible for setting all three fires. He was arrested on December 15 and is currently in jail, held on a $47,500 bond and under a mental health hold.
Officials said that the man, later identified as Spain, had confessed to being the one responsible for the dumpster fires, according to fire investigators.
