Hot Springs man faces murder, arson charges; suspect threatened to burn apartment after quarrel with aunt, police told

HOT SPRINGS — A Hot Springs man was charged with capital murder and arson Thursday afternoon in a fatal fire Tuesday at Polo Run Apartments, police said.

Rayson Edward Clayton, 22, was taken into custody about 3 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Malvern and Grand avenues. Police said in a news release Clayton will be held at the Garland County jail without bail. He could face the death penalty or up to life in prison on the capital murder charge and up to life on the arson charge.

A probable cause affidavit released by police Thursday said the fire occurred shortly after Clayton’s aunt, who had kicked him out of her apartment the day before, declined to let him back inside to pick up his belongings.

Another witness said Clayton had stated he would “burn the place down” if she didn’t let him in to retrieve his belongings.

Police said there is no relation between Clayton and the victim, whose identity has not been released. Hot Springs police Cpl. Kirk Zaner said Wednesday the victim has yet to be identified due to the extent of the fire-related injuries the victim suffered.

Police said Wednesday the fire occurred in the first-floor common area of one building in the complex and involved toxic smoke from a sofa. The fire victim’s body was discovered in the common area on the first floor, the release said. The affidavit said the body was on the ground floor between the stairwell and the exit doors.

“As he tried to escape, we believe he came down the stairs and was overcome by the toxic fumes in the common area, collapsed and subsequently died,” Zaner said Wednesday. “His body was burned by the fire.”

The news release Thursday said the Hot Springs fire marshal and Hot Springs police detectives determined the fire originated from the couch in the common area on the first floor.

About 10 people were rescued from the building, including children and an infant, according to police and the Hot Springs Fire Department.

One resident, a female, jumped from a third-floor window and suffered a broken rib, the affidavit said.

When police and firefighters arrived on the scene at 5:37 p.m. Tuesday, flames and smoke were coming from the ground floor, with heavy smoke billowing up through the center of the building up to the upper two floors, the affidavit said.

Fire Marshals Carlton Scott and Tom Broughton determined the fire began on a couch that was sitting at the bottom of the stairwell adjacent to the aunt’s apartment.

“They also determined that only a person, either by accident or on purpose (arson), set it on fire,” the affidavit said.

Detective Scott Lampinen responded to the scene and talked with Clayton’s aunt, who told him about her confrontation with Clayton a short time earlier and her refusal to let him in her apartment, according to the affidavit. She said after telling Clayton to leave she woke up her son to let him know Clayton was there and then heard smoke detectors going off.

Clayton was previously arrested Jan. 17, 2018, on a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia and pleaded innocent March 5, with a trial set for May 3 in Garland County District Court. He had multiple prior arrests for misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass, usually adjudicated by time served.

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