FAYETTEVILLE -- Police arrested a man and the fire marshal is investigating after a fire Wednesday at a duplex.
Firefighters arrived about 12:40 a.m. at 6497 Nicole Lane to find numerous law enforcement officers and one side of the duplex in flames, Assistant Chief Thomas Good said.
The fire was contained to the one side, which was the only occupied part of the building, Good said. No one was inside at the time of the fire and no one was injured, he said.
Vernon Kilpatrick, the occupant of the duplex, was screaming and holding a baseball bat above his head when a Washington County Sheriff's Office deputy arrived, according to a probable cause preliminary report. Kilpatrick wouldn't comply when first asked to move away from the fire, according to the report.
When he did, the deputy handcuffed him. Kilpatrick began screaming the deputy was trying to kill him. He also began fighting with the deputy and grabbed the front of his belt trying to pull items off, according to the report.
Kilpatrick, 58, was arrested in connection with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, which are both misdemeanors. He was being held Wednesday at the Washington County Detention Center on a $1,300 bond.
NW News on 12/07/2017