Authorities said an Arkansas man found wielding a baseball bat at the scene of a duplex fire was arrested after fighting with a deputy, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
Authorities reportedly arrived to the 6400 block of Nicole Lane in Fayetteville about 12:40 a.m. Wednesday to find one side of the residence in flames.
Vernon Kilpatrick, a 58-year-old occupant of the unit, was screaming and holding a baseball bat above his head when a Washington County sheriff's office deputy got there, according to a report cited by the newspaper.
Kilpatrick reportedly did not comply when first asked to move away from the fire, and when he did, the deputy handcuffed him.
Then he began screaming that the deputy was trying to kill him and began to fight with him, grabbing the front of the deputy's belt trying to pull items off it, according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Kilpatrick was being held in lieu of $1,300 bond at the Washington County jail on charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct as of Thursday afternoon, records show. He is scheduled to appear in court 10:30 a.m. Friday.
