AURORA, Colo. — A man arrested Sunday afternoon following a house fire in Aurora is accused of shoving an officer in the mid-chest area as the officer tried to block him from re-entering the home where the fire had occurred, an affidavit for his arrest from the Aurora Police Department (APD) says.
Muhammed Afia, 18, was arrested by officers for second-degree arson and assault on a peace officer, according to APD.
On Feb. 6, Aurora Fire Rescue (AFR) responded to a fire on the backside of a home in the 3600 block of South Idalia Street. That's near South Chambers Road and East Hampden Avenue.
The fire was contained by fire crews and there were no injuries related to the fire.
As investigators worked the fire, the affidavit says that Afia came back into the home and was ordered out by the fire department because they felt the structure was "dangerous."
As Afia began walking across the street an APD sergeant attempted to stop him but Afia, "jerked away" and began walking back toward the residence, the document says.
When another officer tried to block Afia from reentering the home, Afia "forcefully shoved," him, according to the affidavit. Fearing that he would be assaulted again, the affidavit says that the officer took Afia to the ground where the pair continued to struggle.
That struggle resulted in abrasions on the officer's left hand, according to the document. Body camera footage shows that Afia's face and posture were "aggressive" when he approached the officer, the affidavit says.
According to the affidavit, Afia was read his rights and stated he was willing to speak about the fire with officers. When asked if he had set the fire, Afia admitted that he had started it, the affidavit says.
He said he had done so "because God told him to," the document says.
In a later interview, he explained that he was burning "idols," which were baby dolls from his sister's room, the affidavit says.
He said he placed two dolls on a lit stove to burn them, according to the document, and sprayed lighter fluid inside the residence, but did not "directly light the fluid on fire." Afia also said, according to the affidavit, that he lit 16 candles in an "unoccupied and unsupervised" room.
According to the affidavit, Afia left the residence while there were "active fires," and went to a friend's house. When he returned, he was arrested.
Afia was transported to the Aurora jail and is being held on bond, according to APD.
Due to the closeness of nearby building and the intensity of the fire, other homes were in "extreme danger," of also catching fire, the affidavit says.
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