Arson suspect facing misconduct charges while in county jail
A Texarkana man facing five counts of arson for fires allegedly set in a single day is now facing new felony charges for alleged misconduct while in the Bowie County jail.
Clifford Martin Clark Jr., 26, was arrested last November after the Texarkana, Texas, Fire Department spent a day extinguishing blaze after blaze in four abandoned houses and one occupied residence. Since then, Clark has been accused of spitting on a nurse and two correctional officers in the Bowie County jail.
Clark was allegedly unresponsive May 13 when a nurse stopped at his cell, according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account. Clark’s lack of engagement led the nurse to ask officers to unlock his cell door. After the nurse and two officers entered, the nurse allegedly touched Clark’s body
with her foot.
Clark allegedly jumped up, began shouting and spat at the nurse and two officers, striking the nurse with his saliva on the side of her face, the back of one officer’s head, and the left eye of the other. That alleged event led to Clark’s recent indictment for three counts of harassment by a person in a correctional facility.
Clark was in court this week for a pretrial hearing on the five counts of arson and for arraignment on the harassment charges. Deborah Moore of the Bowie County Public Defender’s Office entered pleas of not guilty on Clark’s behalf to the new charges.
Clark expressed his dissatisfaction with his lawyers, the court and others in, at times, profane terms at the hearing. Clark’s displeasure with the criminal justice system is also evident in letters he has penned to the court since his confinement began.
In a December 2017 letter, Clark protests his innocence but offers to plead guilty if the state agrees to reduce the felony arson charges to misdemeanor criminal mischief.
“I don’t need any more felonies on my rap sheet,” Clifford’s letter states.
In a letter dated Feb. 11, Clifford again denies guilt and questions the abilities of his lawyers and in a letter received by the court in June, Clifford compares jail and court staff to Nazis.
Lockhart scheduled Clifford to return to court Nov. 6.
Clifford’s alleged arson spree began Nov. 28, 2017, at a house at 1315 W. Fifth St. at 11:41 a.m., according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account. The Texarkana, Texas, Fire Department determined that the blaze was intentionally set.
Less than two hours later, TTFD responded at 12:52 p.m. to a fire burning in an abandoned house with no utilities at 1300 Keel St. Loose debris inside the structure was used to intentionally start a fire.
Fire-fighters leaving the scene of the Keel Street blaze noticed smoke coming from an abandoned house on nearby McShane Avenue at 2:21 p.m. The fire appeared to have been set in the same manner as the fire at the Keel Street location. While searching other abandoned structures on McShane, firemen discovered a home where another fire had been started but burned out without intervention.
At approximately 7:45 p.m., firefighters were called to the scene of a burning abandoned house at 2617 Garber St. The house was engulfed in flames and collapsing when firefighters arrived.
“While patrolling the area for the suspect, we reentered the structure at 915 McShane where we found an area that had been set on fire approximately three feet from where the fire burned earlier in the day,” the affidavit states. “The area still had white ash and was warm.”
Clifford faces two to 10 years in prison on each of the harassment charges. The four counts of arson related to fires at abandoned structures are each punishable by two to 20 years in prison. If found guilty of setting fire to an occupied residence, Clifford faces five to 99 years or life in prison.