A man has been arrested on suspicion of arson Sunday night after a small fire charred part of the mobile home he was renting, according to the Cortez Police Department.
Police officials were called because of a disturbance at 1020 S. Chestnut St. just before 9:30 p.m. Sunday, said police Lt. Andy Brock. When officers arrived, they found 25-year-old Milton Yazzie Jr. beating his car with a stick and part of the trailer he was renting was on fire.
Yazzie left the site, Brock said. The front window of his car was broken out and blood was left on the door.
Firefighters with the Cortez Fire Protection District arrived a few minutes later and extinguished the fire in about a minute, said Fire Chief Jay Balfour. The fire touched only the outside of the mobile home, charring a 3-by-3-foot section of the exterior skirting, Balfour said.
No other people were injured, Brock said.
Police found Yazzie down the road, intoxicated and “making some bizarre statements” about the “wolf police” and coyotes, Brock said. His hand was bleeding.
Yazzie was taken to the emergency room for treatment and was then arrested and jailed on suspicion of arson, Brock said.
The trailer’s owner said that the fire caused about $200 to $500 worth of damage to the mobile home, according to Brock.
ealvero@the-journal.com
