Read more on Perdue: Dayton man charged with arson, burglarizing Clark County homes
According to court documents, deputies say Perdue broke into a home on Uplands Drive on Jan. 11 and stole a bag of tools and a jack handle from the garage.
But before he left —he used an accelerant to set the house on fire, according to an affidavit filed with the case. It took five different agencies about six hours to put out the fire, which engulfed the whole house.
Deputies said it was minutes after the fire that they received a burglary call on nearby Dayton-Springfield road. A woman told deputies that a man broke into her house and claimed to be with the fire department but she didn’t buy his story and shoved him out the door.
The sheriff’s office then got a call from another home on Dayton-Springfield, in which a homeowner told deputies that he caught someone trying to cut his electric lines outside his house.
Deputies eventually found the man on Wood Road, not far from the scene of the fire, and linked him with all of the crimes, according to the sheriff’s office. They identified the man as Perdue.
“The defendant had a strong odor of fuel oil from his person and was found to be in possession of a Tiki torch, a silver Maglite (flashlight), a lighter pruning shears, pliers,” an affidavit filed in the case said.
Kevin Voss, owner of the house destroyed by fire, said he lost nearly all of his belonging, including a ‘73 Chevrolet Chevelle, motorcycles and his three cats — Angel, Dude and Scotch.
Read more on the case: GoFundMe set up for Mad River Twp. man who lost everything, including 3 cats, in arson
It’s not clear why Perdue allegedly targeted the neighborhood or how he got there.
“I don’t know the guy at all,” Voss said. “I just don’t understand. I just don’t get it.”
A GoFundMe, titled "Help Kevin After A Stranger Set His House On Fire," was set up by Voss' niece, according to the GoFundMe's bio.
A next court date in the case had not yet been scheduled. As of Friday afternoon, Perdue was listed as an inmate in the Clark County Jail.
on, improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle
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