A Fort Wayne man has been charged with arson after he set several fires in late May at Southgate Plaza.
Marquel Wattley, 22, has been charged with setting fire to several trash cans in front of Southgate Plaza businesses as well as to a computer inside a Burger King restaurant at the plaza. In all, Wattley faces two Level 4 felony counts of arson, one Level 6 felony count of arson and one Level 6 felony count of resisting law enforcement. He also faces a misdemeanor count of resisting law enforcement.
According to a probable-cause affidavit, Fort Wayne Police responded to the fires at 8:50 p.m. May 29 at Southgate Plaza, where the Fort Wayne Fire Department had been dealing with multiple fires at the strip mall.
Two trash cans — one in front of Peerless Cleaners and the other in front of Eyes by India — were fully involved and spread into the eaves of the businesses. Fire crews prevented the spread of the fires to businesses, but the trash cans were completely destroyed. Fire inside trash cans in front of CSL Plasma and Sally's Beauty Supply were extinguished prior to the breeching of the receptacles and did not spread to area businesses.
The Citilink bus hut behind Southgate and a computer in the eating area at Burker King had been set on fire prior to the trash-can fires.
The manager at Burger King identified Wattley to police as customers informed her he was attempting to light the computer monitor with a lighter while they were inside the restaurant at the time. She told police Wattley then left the restaurant, but he came back into the store later and was confronted by police.
As police officers tried to take Wattley into custody, he allegedly fought back by jumping over officers and throwing punches at them. Wattley tried to exit Burger King, but customers and employees tried to block the doorway. Wattley pushed them down and ran from the building. Police quickly located Wattley again and ordered him to stop, but he refused. One officer used a CED device to taser Wattley, who fell to the ground. He still struggled with officers as they tried to place his hands behind his back to handcuff him. One officer sustained a three-inch laceration on the right side of his neck up to his jaw and saw Wattley had blood on his fingers.
Wattley allegedly told police he set the fires because he had nothing to do since he was unemployed and not going to school. He said he traveled between Fort Wayne and Indianapolis because family will not let him stay with them, even though court documents list his address in the 4500 block of Southpark Drive.
Police estimate financial loss to Southgate Plaza is at least $5,000 and more than $250 to Citilink's bus hut.
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