TEMPE, AZ — A man was arrested after setting fire to an outside wall of the Tempe Center for the Arts.
Tempe police report that on September 30, a man later identified as 26-year-old Damien Keith Duddridge, set a small backpack on fire against the back wall of the center.
Police say the incident was captured on surveillance video where police allegedly saw Duddridge set the fire, then leave on a bicycle. Police recognized Duddridge, who has multiple prior arrests in Tempe.
He was located and arrested by police near Mill Avenue and University Drive. He reportedly admitted to setting his backpack on fire because it was a way for him to deal with "recent life events," that were upsetting him.
Court records show the damage estimate to be about $700.
He has been charged with arson and criminal damage.
