VALDOSTA, Ga. (WTXL) - Police said that a 71-year-old man has been arrested for setting fire to an abandoned house in Valdosta.
The Valdosta Police Department said that on Sunday around 6:30 a.m. they were called to a home on 300 Hamilton Street about a fire. When they arrived, they found that the front porch of the empty home was in flames.
They said that the Valdosta Fire Department arrived shortly after and extinguished the flames. Firefighters reported no injuries but said the damage was estimated to be around $1,000.
Both firefighters and police believed that the fire appeared to be intentionally set.
As police talked to witnesses, they found the offender, Willie Frank Nelson, who was inside the vacant residence. When police tried to identify him, he kept telling officers false information.
When fire investigators arrived, they recognized and identified Nelson. An investigation of the fire revealed that Nelson intentionally set fire to the empty home.
Nelson was arrested and charged with arson in the first degree (felony) and obstruction of an officer (misdemeanor). He was transported to the Lowndes County Jail.
