Man charged with setting girlfriend’s couch on fire

WOONSOCKET - A Providence County grand jury has indicted a city man for setting fire to his girlfriend’s apartment several months ago.

Luis A. Rivas Melendez, 30, of 98 Seventh Ave., charged with one count each of first-degree arson and violating a no-contact order.

Melendez, who is free on 30,000 surety bail, is due to be arraigned in Superior Court on July 1, according to Kristy DosReis, spokeswoman for the Office of the Attorney General.

Melendez allegedly set fire to an apartment at 113 Bourdon Boulevard while his girlfriend and two children were inside on Feb. 23, according to police reports.

Witnesses told police Melendez and his girlfriend were arguing over a set of car keys when he threatened to set the apartment on fire. He wanted her to give him the keys to her vehicle and when she refused to do so, he allegedly made good on the threat.

Around 7 15 a.m. on Feb. 23, Officer Christopher Bouvier responded to the scene and found “a completely burnt couch” on the sidewalk in front of the apartment, which is located in the 9eterans Memorial Family Housing 'evelopment, a public housing complex.

According to police reports, when Bouvier looked inside the apartment, a wall was on fire. Members of the Woonsocket Fire department were called to extinguish the flames, which caused an estimated 50,000 worth of damage to the residence.

Melendez was not at the scene when police arrived. ,nvestigators sought the assistance of a K-9 from the

Warwick Police Department to help search for him in the woods around the housing complex, to no avail.

He was located about 10 hours later at a residence he shares with a relative. Before he was taken into custody he was transported to Landmark Medical Center to be treated for burns on his legs.

No one else was injured in the fire.