Authorities arrest man accused of burning down abandoned apartment building
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BATON ROUGE - Officials say the man responsible for setting fire to a building in a derelict apartment complex last year has been arrested.
According to the Baton Rouge Fire Department, 24-year-old Wesley Lehman was taken into custody Monday night in a Sept. 1, 2018 fire that destroyed 16 units at the Brandywine apartment complex.
Firefighters said the second floor was already engulfed in flames when they arrived, and the roof nearly collapsed on crews responding to the blaze.
The property has been closed off to the public since 2017, when the East Baton Rouge Metro City Council voted to condemn the buildings. Members of the city council said the complex had become a frequent setting for crimes.
Lehman was arrested Tuesday night and booked on charges of simple arson and criminal trespassing.