PORT SULPHUR, La. (AP) - Two Port Sulphur men are accused of setting fires at the homes of one man’s former girlfriend and her current boyfriend’s sister, The Plaquemines Parish sheriff’s spokesman says.
Carl Eugene Stewart III, 25, and 28-year-old James Mallard, 28, are being held on charges including aggravated arson, Commander Eric Becnel said in a news release Saturday. It was not clear whether either has an attorney.
Stewart allegedly threatened on March 11 to burn down his the ex-girlfriend’s house, and it was set on fire shortly before midnight that day, Becnel said. He said her boyfriend’s sister’s house was torched about seven hours later, allegedly because Stewart thought his former girlfriend was staying there.
“Three adults and a nine-month old infant had to escape from the residence to avoid being burned,” Becnel wrote.
Witnesses saw Stewart there just after the fire began, and reported that he did not try to warn anyone in the house about the fire, according to Becnel.
After the fire, he wrote, Mallard took Stewart to Boothville in an attempt to hide him.
Becnel said Stewart was on probation and Mallard was on parole for separate drug convictions, and probation and parole agents have asked that each be held for a revocation hearing.
Stewart had been convicted in 2013 of possessing cocaine and marijuana; his probation was scheduled to end in 2016, Becnel said. He said Mallord was on oarole until September for a 2006 conviction on charges of obstructing justice and possessing marijuana with intent to distribute it.
Becnel said Stewart’s bond was set at $450,000 and Mallard’s at $7,500.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.