When police arrived on scene, the fire was already out and a Springfield Fire Division truck had already left.
“Truck 4 advised dispatch that a male suspect had been squatting in the garage and the garage had been boarded up by the city approximately three weeks ago,” the report said.
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The owner of the detached garage told police a man had been previously staying in the garage until the owner kicked him out, but has not seen him since, the report said.
According to the report, the detached garage and miscellaneous property inside were burned.
A short time before this incident, officers were also dispatched around 4:30 a.m. on Saturday to the back of a residence in the 700 block of West North Street after they were advised that the fire department was on scene with a vehicle fire, according to a Springfield police report.
When police arrived, they talked with the fire captain about a burned 2005 Honda Civic that was in a field behind a residence.
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“He advised that when they arrived on scene, the vehicle was engulfed. He advised that he believed it was an arson,” the report said.
Officers then talked to the reporting party who said he called the fire department once he saw the vehicle on fire from his house.
“He advised that he saw someone running from the vehicle but couldn’t give a description. He advised that they ran towards Light Street through the east-west alley from where the vehicle was located,” the report said.
No other witness or suspect information was available for either incident, and Springfield police continue their investigations.
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