Paris, Tenn.–A Paris man was charged with arson after a shed fire on Laurel Lane.
John Phillip Allen, age 34, of 90 Laurel Lane, was arrested late Thursday night by Henry Co. Sheriff’s Deputy Kyle Waldron. Allen is being held in jail on $25,000 bond. His first court appearance is set for June 9.
Allen is charged with two counts of arson: one for the structure and the second for personal property also destroyed in the fire.
According to Waldron’s report, he received a message from the victim saying that Allen was threatening to burn her items stored in a shed they both still own. A little while later, a 911 call came in reporting a structure fire at 90 Laurel Lane.
Paris Firefighters extinguished the blaze, but the shed and all contents were destroyed.
Firefighters told Waldron when they arrived on scene they observed Allen climb out of the bed of
his truck and appeared to hide something in the passenger seat. Allen told officers he had been burning cardboard next to the shed and went inside the residence. He claimed the fire then spread to the shed and a neighbor came and knocked on the door to let him know about the fire.
When asked about the threatening text he had sent to the victim before the fire, Allen told Waldron he did send it but did not mean it.
Firefighters told deputies that they observed they believed a separate fire was started at the wall in order to burn the shed down.