East Providence Police Charge MA Man With Arson After Multi-Family Fire

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI — A Massachusetts man was arrested after East Providence police said he lit a multi-family home on fire, after not being able to get his ex-girlfriend's attention.

Police said the fire happened Saturday at a home on Austin Avenue. When police and firefighters arrived, they saw the homeowner attempting to extinguish the fire in the back of the house.

The homeowner told police he saw a man running from their yard minutes before the fire started. Officers found a man matching the description, who police identified as Joao Rego, 24, of Rehoboth, Massachusetts.

Police said Rego was the ex-boyfriend of a resident in the multi-family home. According to police, Rego admitted he lit the fire in an attempt to get her attention after his ex-girlfriend did not respond to his repeated calls and text messages. Rego told detectives he lit a piece of cardboard on fire and placed it under the deck to set the blaze, police said.

Rego was charged with first-degree domestic arson and two counts of possession of schedule one to five narcotics.

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