It is not every day that a person breaking the law willingly makes comments at the scene of a crime that leads to their arrest. But that is what happened with 19-year-old Fayetteville resident Robert Hinman after a house fire on Dec. 24.

The Christmas Eve incident began when Fayetteville firefighters received a call that an active fire was occurring at a vacant residence on LaFayette Avenue in the Villages subdivision. Firefighters arrived to find bales of straw burning in the garage and a container of paint thinner in the area.

The fire was extinguished with extreme fire damage in the garage and smoke damage inside the home, said Fayetteville Police Public Information Officer Beverly Trainor.

Present at the scene when firefighters arrived, Hinman said he had accidentally started the fire and had gone to a neighbor’s house to report the blaze. Trainor said Hinman asked firefighters if he could assist in extinguishing the fire. Trainor said neither Hinman’s presence at the residence nor his reason for saying he started the fire is currently known.

During the interview with officers, Hinman also said some of his personal items could be found in the press box at Tiger Stadium a short distance away, Trainor said. A search of the location revealed Hinman’s clothes, a sleeping bag and a BB gun, she said.

Hinman was charged with burglary and second-degree criminal damage to property in the house fire and with having a weapon on school property. But there would be another charge added to the list.

Interviews with Hinman gave way to charges relating to a very small grass fire at Fayette Pavilion on Dec. 17, Trainor said. Hinman had arrived at the Pavilion fire station on that date to report the grass fire near the Target store. Firefighters went to the scene and extinguished the small fire, Trainor said. Arriving at the fire scene on a bicycle, Hinman showed firefighters a “fire lighter” product he claimed to have purchased earlier in the day from a local sporting goods store.

Trainor said officers saw Hinman at the Pavilion later in the day. There was no arrest made at that time because officers could not sufficiently prove his connection to the grass fire, Trainor said. The grass fire was one of several small brush fires that occurred recently in the Pavilion area, she said.

After interviews with Hinman subsequent to the Christmas Eve fire, police charged him with starting the grass fire at Target, citing him with engaging in certain activities relating to use of fires and ignited objects, a misdemeanor.

Trainor said police have not been able to make a determination why Hinman would volunteer information that would implicate him and result in criminal charges.

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