US landlord charged with arson amid tenant dispute
NEW YORK, United States (AP) — Police say a Long Island landlord started a gas fire in his home amid tensions with his tenants.
Daswell Anderson’s bail was set at US$100,000 at his arraignment Monday on charges including arson. His attorney’s name wasn’t immediately available from the Legal Aid Society, which represented him. A possible phone number for his Uniondale home wasn’t ringing properly.
The Nassau County Police Department says the 69-year-old Anderson lives in the basement and quarrelled with a family that rents the ground floor.
Police say the tenants heard Anderson banging on pipes in the basement Sunday night, smelled gas and fled.
Firefighters arrived around 10:30 pm to find a blaze, extinguished it and shut off leaking gas.
Investigators believe Anderson’s activities with the pipes caused the leak.
No injuries were reported.