A man was arrested for allegedly starting a fire that caused $5 million worth of damage to a Target store in Arizona.
Police officers from the Mesa Police Department (MPD) responded to reports of a fire at the location on June 27. When officers arrived at the scene, the store was already up in flames, the MPD said in a news release. (RELATED: Woman Allegedly Burns Police Station With Flaming Shopping Cart)
Just before 10 p.m. on June 27, Mesa Police Department officers were called to the Target store near Southern Avenue and Longmore for reports of a fire. MORE ⬇️ https://t.co/xM9nnwTyJl
— ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) July 4, 2023
The Mesa Fire Department then arrived at the scene and extinguished the fire. During the investigation, officers discovered that the suspect started two fires inside the store, one in the diaper aisle and one with a piece of clothing on the floor, according to the MPD.
MPD officers recovered surveillance footage, which showed the suspect, 31-year-old Daniel Hull, walking through the store with a shopping cart and picking up a piece of clothing just like the one used to start one of the fires, the MPD said.
Hull lit the garment on fire and headed toward the electronics area as smoke began to fill the store, attempting unsuccessfully to break into a case of cell phones with a hammer, according to the news release.
The suspect then left the store with other stolen items and fled the scene in a black sedan, according to the MPD.
Police identified Hull after using surveillance footage to obtain a license plate number, and found that, “[a]s luck would have it, officers wouldn’t have to look far to find Hull, he was sitting in Mesa Police custody from an unrelated arrest earlier in the day,” according to the press release.
Hull reportedly caused $5 million in damage between burned merchandise, smoke damage and water damage from the sprinklers, the MPD release noted. Hull has been charged with arson of an occupied structure, endangerment, shoplift artifice, and criminal damage over $500,000, according to the MPD.