Missoula Man Is Charged With Arson Twice In Two Months
At around 7:00 Saturday morning, law enforcement was dispatched to a structure fire located in the Blue Mountain Trailer Park. According to Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Brenda Bassett, 62-year-old Thomas Edward Smith was apprehended for the same crime he committed just a few months ago.
“Over the weekend I had received a call that he had been taken into custody for an arson charge,” Bassett said. “This actually is not his first arson charge. A few months ago, he was picked up and it was another story that had made the news. When deputies arrived, he was actually still in the area and luckily for the home owner of the trailer, it was able to be put out pretty quickly.”
According to court documents, Jayden Torrez lives at the residence and he said that he recently let Smith stay there, and that Smith had flipped over a couch and started a fire while he was sleeping. Torrez said he smelled the fire and put it out, but the living room carpet was burnt, along with a small table, couch and a large mirror. The deputy at the scene said Smith admitted to starting the fire by using a candle and some pages out of a magazine. Smith is now facing a felony arson charge.