A Phoenix man has been arrested after setting a bicycle on fire and threatening to burn down the neighborhood.
Court records show that on July 3, as a man poured gasoline on a women's bike the gas splashed onto the woman and her friend. He then set the bike on fire.
Police report that 60-year-old Joe Kennerd Jones confronted two women, accusing them of stealing his wallet. He then allegedly took a gas can from his car and poured gas on a bicycle belonging to one of the women. The gas splashed onto the women as well. Jones then reportedly set the bike on fire and threatened to burn down the neighborhood.
When police arrived, one of the victims told them that she remembered that Jones once lived at an apartment near Interstate 17 and Thomas Road, which caught fire a month ago. In that fire, the Phoenix Fire Department entered the third story apartment and extinguished a fire on the couch and a chair. No one was injured.
Police identified the occupant of that apartment as Joe Jones and showed a photo of Jones to the women. They identified Jones as the man who assaulted them.
Jones was located and arrested by police on August 11.
He has been charged with arson and aggravated assault.
