History of strange behavior but motive unclear for suspect in Neighbours nightclub arson
Feb 6, 2014, 6:10 AM | Updated: 6:21 am
The man accused of setting a fire inside a crowded nightclub on New Year’s Eve has a history of bizarre behavior and run-ins with the police.
Musab Musmari, 30, was charged Wednesday with first-degree arson and ordered held on $1 million bail.
Musmari has a previous conviction for assault and several cases pending in municipal court.
Between May and August last year he was found asleep behind the wheel of his car, smelling of alcohol, shirtless in a tree cutting off branches and accused of spitting on a police officer.
He was also accused of swinging a golf club at someone and refusing to stop painting the railing outside his apartment.
About 750 people were celebrating New Year’s Eve in the nightclub Neighbours when an arsonist poured gasoline on a carpeted stairway and set it ablaze. A U.S. Army staff sergeant and an Air Force member quickly put out the fire before it spread. The club’s sprinkler system activated, and no one was hurt.
Fire investigators found a one-gallon plastic container of gasoline at the top of the stairs, according to court records.
Callers identified Musmari from surveillance video that had been released to the public, police said in court documents.
In the video, a man is seen carrying an object that is large and heavy enough to contain a one-gallon gas can shortly before midnight, according to the probable cause statement. He is seen walking toward the east stairway carrying an object, and the fire is seen in that stairway about 12 to 15 minutes later. The man is spotted on the main floor leaving the nightclub.
Less than 24 hours after a witness first told Musmari about news media coverage of the fire, and observed that the suspect image resembled Musmari, police say the man contacted a travel agent to buy the one-way airline ticket to Turkey, a deputy prosecutor said in court papers.
Police found U.S. and Libyan passports on Musmari, who is a U.S. citizen, the court record shows. He has been ordered to surrender the passports.
It was unclear whether Musmari was represented by a lawyer. His arraignment is set for Feb. 19.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
