Man Jailed for Setting Fires at BSRDC; He said the fires were set because “he was cold”

By Roberta Cantrell
BSN Editor

A man just released from the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center found himself right back behind bars Friday, May 8, after setting fires in the lobby bathrooms of the jail before leaving the facility.

According to an arrest citation written by Paintsville Police Officer Dewey Meade, the agency received a call from the jail at approximately 6:45 a.m. on May 8 reporting that Dillon Smothers, 21 of Boonscamp had set two fires in the lobby bathrooms.

The call was from jail personnel who reported that the fires had caused smoke to fill the lobby and damage was noted to the sink in the women’s bathroom.

The citation stated that Officer Meade located Smothers at a gas station, at which time Smothers was found to have a lighter in his hand.

According to the citation, he told the officer he had started a fire inside the jail because he was cold.

Smothers was booked back into the jail at 7:28 a.m. on a charge of second-degree criminal mischief, according to BSRDC records.

According to court documents, on Thursday, May 7, Dillon Smothers, 21, who has addresses listed on court documents of both Boons Camp and Inez, was originally arrested on a charge of public intoxication.

Johnson County Sheriff’s Deputy Adam Stanley stated in his citation that he arrested Smothers after a Staffordsville resident called to report that a suspicious person was on her porch and that he may need assistance.

The deputy stated when he arrived, he was told by Smothers that he was “only a little high and not very high,” and that he had walked from a rehab facility on U.S. 460.

Stanley wrote that Smothers showed signs of intoxication.

Smothers was arrested lodged in the jail at 6:49 p.m. and released at 4:07 a.m. on May 8 just before setting the fires at the jail.