Pennsylvania man arrested for setting ECU campus police vehicle on fire

Published 11:20 am Thursday, July 29, 2021

A Pennsylvania man was accused of setting a patrol SUV at a North Carolina university on fire, police said Wednesday.

East Carolina University said in a news release that officers received a call on Tuesday about one of its vehicles on fire off campus. Damage to the vehicle was confined to the rear and the fire was quickly extinguished, the news release said.

Officers used camera footage from the area to get a description of the suspect, and an ECU patrol sergeant located and apprehended him after he tried to flee, according to the news release.

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Authorities filed multiple charges against Fernando Daniel Laurens, 20, of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, including three counts of felony arson to personal property. Capt. Chris Sutton with ECU Police said Laurens was in possession of a one-gallon milk jug containing a liquid substance which is believed to have been used to start the fire. Sutton said the liquid could have pooled under the vehicle or been poured atop it prior to being lit, The Daily Reflector reported.

The news release said Laurens, who is being held on a $50,000 bond, is not a student at the school.

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