For the police officer, the man’s body language was the giveaway. His combative stance and his abrupt hand movement hinted at the possibility of danger.An Allen County man is accused of burning down a mobile home that belonged to him and his wife.
David J. Taylor, 37, of the 10300 block of Gold Meadow Drive, was preliminarily charged Wednesday with felony arson.
According to court documents, authorities were dispatched to the home near East Dupont Road shortly before 5 a.m. July 1. They found it engulfed in flames, and neighboring homes were evacuated, court documents stated.
A neighbor told investigators he heard Taylor threaten to burn down the mobile home if his wife left him again. Other neighbors reported hearing Taylor say his wife had taken almost everything out of the home and that he would get revenge by torching it, documents said.
A friend of Taylor told investigators she gave him a ride to the mobile home in the hours before it burned. Taylor removed belongings from inside and then asked his friend for a ride to get gasoline, so he could set fire to the home, according to court documents.
The friend initially resisted, but she drove him to a gas station where Taylor filled a 1-liter Pepsi bottle with gas. Back at the mobile home, Taylor went inside and doused the floor with the fuel, court documents said.
After realizing he did not have a lighter, Taylor sent his friend back to the gas station to get one. When she returned, he had her light the fire and then they fled, court documents stated.
In an interview with investigators, Taylor denied setting the mobile home on fire, court documents stated. He posted a $10,000 bond Wednesday to be released from custody.
Taylor’s friend has not been charged.
