UPDATE: Man arrested for arson in Riverdale mobile fire, police say
Jan 8, 2023, 4:41 PM | Updated: Jan 11, 2023, 2:35 pm
The mobile home that caught on fire at Leslie’s Mobile Home Park (Riverdale Police)
(Riverdale Police)
RIVERDALE, Utah — Fire investigators are looking into a possible arson case after a Riverdale mobile home caught on fire early Sunday morning.
At approximately 3:55 a.m., the Riverdale fire and police departments were dispatched to a structure fire at Leslie’s Mobile Home Park, according to Riverdale Police.
When first responders arrived, the mobile home was fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire and prevent the rest of the flames from spreading to nearby homes.
Police said they would be investigating if this was arson, as witnesses reported hearing an explosion when the fire broke out. The mobile home was vacant and nobody was living in it.
Officers said they found a cellphone underneath the stairs of the home with the flashlight still on. There were also a couple facemasks and a lighter near the home.
When police were on scene, they spoke with some people who were nearby when the fire started. According to police, witnesses said they saw two or three individuals run from the area when the trailer went up in flames.
They spoke with Sigifredo Gomez after a detective located him at his home. According to court documents, Gomez admitted that he set fire to the home but said he did so after his aunt, the owner of the mobile home, offered him $800 to light her trailer on fire.
He is being charged with a first degree felony of aggravated arson, according to a probable cause statement that said he intentionally lit a habitable structure on fire.
His aunt, Hereminia Torres, was later located and interviewed. Police said that she admitted to asking Gomez to find someone to burn down her trailer, and that she would pay them $500 to do so. She is also being charged with aggravated arson, as the structure was habitable and intentionally lit ablaze.
