Man to appear in district court in connection with arson reports
A Smackover man who was arrested in connection to several recent reports of arson in El Dorado is expected to make his first appearance today in 35th Judicial District Court.
David Holmes Sr., 63, was arrested Monday for arson and refusal to submit to arrest.
Holmes also faces charges of robbery and theft of property for allegedly taking money from a woman who also reported that Holmes set her car on fire.
Police responded to three reports of arson Monday, with the victims saying that their houses and/or vehicles had been set on fire.
The calls came just before
8 p.m. within minutes of each other.
Police were first called to a residence in the 1000 block of East Cook in reference to a small fire at the front door and a vehicle in the backyard.
A woman said she learned from a witness that Holmes had been seen at the residence shortly before the fires started.
The woman said her neighbors extinguished the blaze and then realized there was a second fire on the windshield of a car in the backyard.
She said her neighbors notified her about the incidents after they put out the second fire.
The woman, who is presumably related to Holmes, told police that Holmes had been threatening family members, noting that another relative had fled her residence out of fear that Holmes would also set her house on fire.
Police said there was minor damage to the front door and vehicle
in the backyard of the East Cook residence.
Minutes later, officers responded to a report of another vehicle fire in the 1100 block of East Barnes.
A woman there said she was talking to a relative inside her relative’s vehicle when a dark colored vehicle parked on the street in front of the residence.
The woman said Holmes exited the vehicle, approached her vehicle and opened the driver’s side door.
Holmes then briefly leaned inside her vehicle and closed the door before returning to dark colored vehicle and leaving the area, the woman said.
She said her relative noticed flames inside her vehicle moments later.
The woman said she rushed to her vehicle and saw a bottle of liquid and paper burning on the driver’s seat.
She said she grabbed the bottle, threw it in the yard and doused the fire with ice water.
Police said the driver’s door and seat were burned.
They also said the plastic bottle the woman had removed from the vehicle smelled heavily of gasoline.
A short time later, a third report of
a vehicle fire came in on Pye Court.
Officers said flames were coming from the front end of the vehicle when they arrived on the scene.
El Dorado firefighters extinguished the blaze, and during an investigation, firefighters and police said they found evidence indicating that the blaze had been deliberately set.
A woman told police that a neighbor had informed her that her vehicle was on fire.
She listed Holmes as a possible suspect, saying that he had threatened her and her adult daughter, who he previously dated.
The woman also said she and other family members had been attempting to file an order of protection against Holmes.
The woman from the East Barnes residence told officers that she had also been seeking an order of protection against Holmes.
She reported the previous day that Holmes had forcefully taken a total of $40 cash from her while the pair was inside Stop One Food Mart, 1106 E. Hillsboro.
She said Holmes walked into the store and began talking to her, ignoring requests to leave her alone and to “go away.”
As she approached the cash register to pay for merchandise, Holmes grabbed a $20 bill from her hand, the woman told police.
She said a scuffle ensued, and Holmes snatched a second $20 bill from her hand and ripped it in half.
Approximately two hours after officers responded to the vehicle fire on East Barnes, they learned that Holmes had gone to Medical Center of South Arkansas to be treated for a medical issue.
Holmes was disorderly and would not comply with directions from hospital staff or officers, according to a police report.
Police said they warned Holmes they would use a stun gun if he did not comply with their commands, and he told officers, “I don’t care.”
Police said they shot Holmes several times with a stun gun before they were able to subdue him and take him into custody.
Holmes was arrested for arson in connection to the fire that was reported on East Barnes Street incident and for refusal to submit to arrest.
He was later charged with robbery and theft of property for his alleged involvement in the incident at Stop One Food Mart.
Holmes was being held Tuesday evening in the Union County jail in lieu of a recommended bond of $500,000.