Waco Man, Wacko Stunt?

It’s a sad thing when a fire rages through a house and destroys all manner of personal property. When you allegedly set that fire yourself, however, you better be prepared. Luckily, at a house fire on February 5th in Waco, Texas, Ian Delventey Guy was.

Police think that Guy knew about the fire before it even happened, and was able to move most of the property that was about to be damaged to a storage unit. Was it for safe keeping?

Police didn’t seem to think so. If Guy did know that the fire was looming in the near future, he seems to have made a few miscalculations about his own.  According to KWTX, he was arrested on March 25th and charged with arson and insurance fraud, as authorities suspected Guy of setting the fire at his parent’s home in order to submit a false insurance claim (see KWTX video below).

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Guy filed a claim on the same day with Homesite Insurance Company. He allegedly informed them that his home had burned and that several items had been destroyed. To make matters worse, a firefighter fell through the ceiling and was injured while battling the blaze.

Guy was also kind (or foolish, depending on how you look at it) enough to submit a list to the insurance company of the items lost in the fire. As noted in the affidavit, these items include: jewelry valued at $15,000, a men’s black fur coat, every color of Dickies with Guy’s name and logo, a Barbie Jeep and a Barbie Corvette electric car (both reportedly stolen after the fire), a number of pairs of Nike Air Jordan shoes, and other articles of clothing.

The fire, however, was set deliberately, the affidavit said, and before it was, Guy rented a storage unit in which he put many of the items he later claimed had been destroyed.

On March 18th, the storage unit was searched by investigators, and lo and behold, the affidavit said they found a black fur coat, seven sets of Dickies with Guy’s name and logo, men’s suits, assorted clothing, children’s clothing, and nine pairs of Nike Air Jordans. Maybe he just forgot that he had safely tucked away these items. There was no mention of the Barbie cars or jewelry being found in the storage unit.

According to the affidavit, the jewelry, which was allegedly kept in a drawer at the foot of Guy’s bed “could not have been destroyed in the manner as described.” Maybe it’ll turn up in the trunk of one of the Barbie cars.

He is now being held on bonds totaling $500,000.

Please note that these are merely allegations as there have been no convictions.  All parties are innocent until proven guilty.