A 34-year-old electrician was charged this week with intentionally setting fire to a Salt Lake City apartment complex where he had worked while it was under construction. Dustin Bowman had worked at the construction site for about two weeks, when the complex was destroyed by fire on Feb. 9.
The Claims Journal reported that Dave Conrad, owner of Conelco-Conrad Electric Inc., a subcontractor on the apartment project, told the Salt Lake Tribune that Bowman had worked for the company off and on for years. Bowman posted three photos and a link to a news story about the fire to his Facebook page, the report said.
Bowman reportedly told investigators after several interviews that he had been smoking Spice, and then entered the complex and set fire to some cardboard. Bowman changed his story several times even after his admission. The Salt Lake Tribune stated that Bowman became a suspect after investigators watched a surveillance camera that captured the image of a man walking through an alley immediately west of the apartment building at approximately 5:22 p.m. on Feb. 9.
The 40-foot-tall building was planned to have 61 units and cover 64,000 square feet. The fire caused an estimated $2.5 million in damage. No one was inside at the time of the blaze.