Leslie Wood thought calling the police would stop her neighbor from setting fires.
A police officer arrived at their Linthicum apartment building. The officer spoke to the man. Yet, two hours later, that man burned down the building.
"We lost everything," Wood said.
Wood lived in an apartment at 202 W. Maple Road, where Brian Preissler, 39, also lived. Preissler was charged with arson after he set fire to his own apartment in September, burning down the whole building.
There were nine apartments and two commercial units at 202 W. Maple Road. Nine adults and five children were displaced.
Preissler pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree arson but was found not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder. He will be transferred to a mental health facility indefinitely.
Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Michele Jaklitsch made the finding after reviewing reports from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Wood and her fiance, Charles Long, said they lost personal belongings and their car, and didn't have insurance to replace them. Three kittens died in the fire, too, Wood said.
"All I think about was the cats screaming, like they were on fire," Wood said, wiping away tears.
Preissler said in court that he is bipolar. His plea and the judge's finding mean he will stay in the hospital until doctors deem him safe to release.
During his hearing, Preissler said he was aware of his decisions and responded to most questions with "Yes, sir."
The Linthicum man was brought into the court in handcuffs. He waived his right to a trial by entering his guilty plea.
"I'm sorry this happened," Preissler said in his statement before he was taken away. "I didn't want to hurt anybody."
Residents at the property found Preissler starting small fires near the apartment building on Sept. 19. The police were called, but didn't arrest or remove Preissler from the property.
Neighbors expressed concerns that Preissler had been acting erratically, at one point shaving off half his hair.
An officer found the fire pits, but Preissler was coherent and told the officer he didn't intend to harm anybody. The officer had Preissler put out the fires and then left the scene.
About two hours later, firefighters were called to the property as the wood-frame apartment building burned. Preissler ignited his couch with a cigarette and the blaze spread quickly throughout the building, prosecutors said.
Forty-five firefighters responded from Baltimore City, Baltimore and Howard counties, and BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. It took about three hours to control the fire.
After the incident, questions were raised about the police response. Wood and Long said they felt the apartment building might not have burned down if Preissler had been arrested or taken to a doctor.
At the time, the police officer didn't see grounds for Preissler's arrest or removal. But the month after the incident, county police Chief Timothy Altomare said it could have been handled differently.
Last year, the county required all officers to complete an eight-hour course on mental health.
Police are trained on assessing and handling situations involving people with mental illness, said Lt. Ryan Frashure, an Anne Arundel County Police spokesman.
In this instance, the officer didn't feel an arrest was warranted, Frashure said.
"With hindsight ... this man obviously had a mental health issue," he said. "We are constantly evaluating ourselves. We always try to do a better job. We owe it to our citizens to do a better job."
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