Phoenix man sets own couch on fire and sparks blaze in apartment, police say

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    Phoenix, AZ (KPHO/KTVK) — A Phoenix man has been arrested for allegedly setting his own couch on fire, sparking a blaze in his apartment. Police say 26-year-old Gerardo Ortega-Cardenas faces one felony count of arson.

On Sunday morning, just after 10 a.m., Phoenix police and firefighters responded to calls about an apartment fire near I-10 and Roosevelt Street. The tenant in the unit that was on fire, Ortega-Cardenas, was not near the apartment at the time.

After fire crews put out the fire and left, police say Ortega-Cardenas returned to his unit. But that’s when neighbors called police, “because of his strange behavior,” according to the police report.

When officers returned and made contact with Ortega-Cardenas, police say he told them he, “intentionally set his couch on fire,” with a cigarette lighter. When asked why he did it, he said that he was “upset” but wouldn’t say what caused him to be upset, according to the police report.

The fire destroyed Ortega-Cardenas’ apartment. It also damaged a neighbor’s apartment, as well as a neighbor’s car.

Ortega-Cardenas was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail. His bail was set at $30,000.

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