Newsroom
A 43-year-old man has been ordered held for seven days in connection with a fire that destroyed a paper workshop in Ypsonas early Wednesday morning. He is under investigation for arson and malicious damage.
The workshop, owned by a 75-year-old man, was gutted in the blaze. Nearby houses were also damaged. Fire Service crews have not yet determined the cause because the building is structurally unstable and unsafe to enter.
According to police, the workshop owner told investigators he believed the fire was set deliberately and named the 43-year-old, a former employee, as a suspect. The two men reportedly had ongoing disputes, and the suspect had allegedly threatened the owner several times.
Police told the court that the suspect quit his job about a year ago but recently asked to be rehired. When the owner refused, the suspect allegedly threatened him, saying, “I’ll burn you alive.” Investigators said he repeated the threat two weeks ago at a local coffee shop, where witnesses intervened after he approached the 75-year-old aggressively. The incident was reported to police, who issued warnings to the suspect.
The court also heard that the suspect allegedly damaged a company vehicle about a month ago and that witnesses saw him leaving an area near the workshop shortly before the fire.
The 43-year-old denies the allegations. He told police the workshop owner owes him money and that their confrontation at the coffee shop was related to the debt. He also denies damaging the company vehicle and said he was at home, which is located near the workshop, when the fire broke out.
The court approved the police request for his detention to allow further investigation.
