Bond was set at $25,000 for an El Dorado man who appeared Monday in 35th Judicial District Court following an arrest in which he admitted to setting a fire that damaged a house over the weekend.
Kenneth A. Scales, 39, of 815 W. First, was arrested Saturday on charges of arson and public intoxication after he was identified as a suspect in the fire that occurred at the West First Street residence.
Police and the El Dorado Fire Department were called to the residence at approximately 11:30 p.m. and saw that the front of the house was engulfed in flames.
Scales’ girlfriend told officers that she and Scales had argued, noting that he appeared intoxicated.
She said she told Scales to “get out of her house” and left. When she returned approximately 15 minutes later, the house was ablaze and police and firefighters were already on the scene.
No injuries were reported.
A witness told police that a male, later identified as Scales, was standing outside the house as the fire grew.
The witness said she called 911, and the man left the area on foot, heading west on First, before firefighters and officers arrived on the scene.
She noted that Scales was wearing dark pants and no shirt.
While circulating the area, police said they saw a man with no shirt outside E-Z Wash laundromat, 514 S. Bradley.
Officers noted there was a cigarette lighter on the ground next to him.
According to a police report, Scales smelled heavily of “intoxicants,” his speech was slurred and he was unsteady on his feet.
Scales told officers that he set the fire at the West First residence “due to previous issues that occurred earlier in the day with his relationship.”
He repeatedly stated, “Yeah, I did it. I put the residence on fire,” police said.
Scales remained in the Union County Jail Monday night after receiving a $25,000 bond during a first appearance hearing in 35th Judicial District Court.
Infants unharmed
An 8-month-old girl was reportedly unharmed after being accidentally locked in a vehicle Sunday.
Officers were called just before 2 p.m. to a residence in the 700 block Russell in reference to a child locked in a vehicle.
Police said the infant’s grandparents were trying to find a way to get inside the vehicle, and the infant was crying, and “sweat was covering her face.”
Temperatures reached the mid-90s on Saturday.
Police broke one of the rear door windows to get to the infant, and they rushed her inside the residence.
Officers noted a droplet of blood near the baby’s right eye and determined that she received a minor cut from a shard of glass.
The infant was transported by ambulance to Medical Center of South Arkansas. She did not sustain serious or life-threatening injuries, according to a police report.
Another infant was unharmed Friday after a tree toppled onto an apartment building at Hudson Place Apartments, 132 Hargett Drive.
Officers were called to the scene at approximately 6:45 a.m.
A woman told police she was getting her older child ready for school when the tree crashed through the ceiling and fell on top of her.
She said then she fell on top of her 3-month-old son, who was lying on the bed, and shielded him from falling debris.
Police said the tree broke in two, with the top half piercing the roof of the apartment building and pushing through the ceiling of the two-story apartment.
Police said the woman sustained minor scratches on her right arm.
The woman and and infant were treated and released from MCSA.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at [email protected].