From Sandy Louey:
Authorities arrested a 21-year-old man Tuesday for allegedly trying to set fire to a Sacramento home after the residents asked him to leave.
Arson investigators with the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District arrested Cole Alan Nelson on suspicion of arson of an inhabited structure or property, possession of a firebomb and possession of a destructive device with intent to terrify, according to a news release.
Nelson was being held at the Sacramento County Main Jail Tuesday on $400,000 bail. He is scheduled to be in court Thursday, according to online jail records.
Sacramento Metro firefighters responded at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday to an extinguished fire at a home in the 2700 block of Adriatic Way.
Nelson had been a guest in the home Monday night where he visited with three residents and an additional guest.
He had been asked to leave, but refused to do so. When the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department was called at 10:35 p.m., Nelson fled. Deputies looked for him without success, the release said.
Just before 12:09 a.m. Tuesday, the three residents and the guest heard knocking at the front door. When they got there, they saw flames coming from the exterior entryway, Sacramento Metro officials said.
The four fled through a back patio door. While one of them called 911, the other three went to the front of the home, where they confronted Nelson.
Fire officials said the residents wrestled Nelson to the ground and held him until deputies arrived. A resident used a garden hose to extinguish the fire at the front door and threshold.
Deputies said they found a gasoline can and wicking material in Nelson's backpack. They also recovered two disposable lighters.
Arson investigators found items consistent with a Molotov cocktail in the exterior entryway to the home. Wicking material matched that found in Nelson's backpack, officials said.
There was no estimate available on damage to the property.
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