19-year-old charged with arson after police say he lit Rexburg home on fire
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REXBURG — A 19-year-old was arrested on Wednesday after police say he lit a Rexburg home on fire.
Sebastian Louw is charged with felonies for first-degree arson and battery against health care workers.
According to a Facebook post from the Rexburg Police Department, first responders were called to a trailer home on Airport Road for a report of a structure fire with people still inside. Officers arrived on scene and forced entry through a window to help the person, later identified as Louw, out of the trailer.
Later officers discovered that around 1:22 p.m., Louw allegedly told a woman in the home, who is his registered healthcare worker, that “bad s*** was about to happen.”
He then reportedly put a notebook, a blanket, a DVD player, Tupperware, and two fire alarms on a gas stove and turned it on.
The woman tried to turn the stove off, but Louw allegedly threw a large glass bowl and a trash can at her. She was able to get out of the trailer, but police say Louw locked himself inside. Louw was rescued from the burning home by first responders. He later indicated to police that he had started the fire as part of a plan to commit suicide.
Police say Louw and the woman were the only people in the home at the time, and the fire was quickly extinguished by firefighters but damage spread throughout the trailer due to the smoke.
Louw was arrested and booked into the Madison County Jail on a $25,000 bond, which was later reduced to $10,000 after the court found Louw indigent. A competency evaluation request was filed by Louw’s public defender, Jim Archibald, and has not yet been completed.
He is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday. If convicted, Louw could face up to 28 years in prison.
Though Louw has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.