IC man accused of setting fire to third floor apartment containing woman, man, and 3 children under age 5

Lang
6/14/21

Police say an Iowa City man tried to burn down a woman’s apartment with her, her boyfriend, and three children under the age of five still inside.

According to arrest records, 32-year-old Shabazz Carter of Davis Street began knocking on the door of the alleged victim’s apartment on the 600 block of East Court Street just before 10:30 Sunday night. The woman said Carter knocked for about 20 minutes, and when she looked out her peephole, she could see him crouching below her door.

After the woman called police, the knocking stopped. She then noticed liquid spilling into her apartment under her door. The liquid then ignited, touching off a large fire that trapped all five occupants inside the third floor apartment. The group huddled outside on the balcony while firefighters extinguished the blaze, which took about 20 minutes. Damage is estimated at $50,000.

Arriving first responders found Carter on the scene, watching the fire. He allegedly claimed he had just woken up and had not been inside the building. Witnesses and the reporting party disputed Carter’s account, saying they had seen him inside and outside the building prior to the fire.

Surveillance video shows Carter at the L&M Mighty Shop on East Burlington Street, purchasing lighter fluid shortly before the fire. He denied it was him on the video, despite the fact that he was still wearing the same clothes. The bottle of lighter fluid was found in a dumpster behind the Court Street apartment building.

Investigators later learned that Carter and the woman in the apartment had been in a previous intimate relationship.

Carter is charged with 1st Degree Arson. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.