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SALT LAKE CITY — A man accused of burning down a relative's house, in addition to setting two other fires in Southern Utah, has been charged.
Douglas Jack Carter, 32, was charged Friday in Iron County's 5th District Court with aggravated arson, a first-degree felony, and two counts of arson, a class A misdemeanor.
According to an Iron County Jail booking report, Carter "is known to start fires and has been convicted of it in the last three years."
On Thursday, Parowan police arrested Carter after he allegedly "dumped gas down a wall" of a house that a relative lived in and lit it on fire, the report states. "The fire … was in a habitable house (and was) a total loss."
While the fire was burning, Carter walked over to the scene to watch and ask firefighters questions, according to the report. Later, when investigators attempted to question him, Carter, who lived two doors away, refused to answer the door and police were forced to obtain a warrant, the report states.
Carter was found hiding in a shed.
"He admitted to knowing we were looking for him and said he was trying to hide from us," according to the report.
Carter is also suspected of lighting two power poles on fire on Oct. 28 and Sept. 24, the report states.
"If the suspect is allowed to bail out, it is believed he will start another house on fire. Based on the fires he has started in the past month it is reasonable he will attempt to start another one," the arresting officer wrote in the booking report. "The house he burned down today is owned by family members and it is unknown if he would try to (light) a different family member's home on fire."
According to court records, Carter was convicted of stalking in August. He also currently faces eight counts of voyeurism, a class B misdemeanor, in Kane County Justice Court, court records state.
