CONWAY -- Police found items that appeared to be two Molotov cocktails in the apartment of a man accused of setting fire to a Conway apartment building, injuring two people, an affidavit says.
One of the injuries was minor, though the other was life-threatening, according to the police affidavit filed in Faulkner County Circuit Court.
A dog died in the Feb. 27 fire that destroyed a 12-unit building at Germantown Apartments on South German Lane.
David Hartsell, 50, was arrested on charges of arson and first-degree battery shortly after the early morning fire.
He remained in the county jail Monday in lieu of $500,000 bond, online jail records show. His next court date is March 20.
The affidavit, filed late last week, said wicks were still attached to the devices.
"One cocktail was visible from outside the apartment and appeared to be a large bottle with the wick still attached sitting upon the kitchen counter," the affidavit said. "The other cocktail reported was a gasoline can under the sink also with a wick coming out of it."
The affidavit said a fire investigator had advised police that the blaze originated in Hartsell's apartment.
When a detective entered a Police Department room to interview Hartsell later, "he noted a strong odor of accelerants, mainly gasoline on Hartsell's person," the affidavit said.
State Desk on 03/07/2017