Family dispute leads to felony arson charge

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Apparently fed up with his claim that “nobody would listen to him,” a 55-year-old Reelsville man is now facing an arson charge for allegedly setting fire to the camper in which he lived on his daughter’s property.

Steven P. Davidson was formally charged with Level 6 felony arson in Putnam Superior Court on Wednesday.

The charges spring from a Wednesday, May 2 incident in which Putnam County sheriff’s deputies were called for the camper on fire and a possibly suicidal subject.

By his own admission, Davidson called 911 dispatch to say that his camper was on fire and he had a knife and was going to kill himself.

Upon arrival, Deputy Scott Ducker and Capt. Tom Helmer immediately located the burning camper as well as Davidson sitting nearby on the tailgate of a pickup.

Ducker said that as he handcuffed Davidson for his safety, he asked where the knife was. Ducker said Davidson told him he had never had a knife.

The deputy noted in court records that Davidson said he had nothing left to live for.

“He stated that nobody would listen to him,” Ducker wrote, “and maybe they’ll listen now.”

During the course of the investigation, Ducker learned that the camper was not, in fact, Davidson’s, but belonged to his daughter, as did the property on which the camper was parked.

The daughter arrived home as Reelsville firefighters were extinguishing the blaze and Operation Life paramedics were evaluating her father.

She told Ducker that she owned the trailer and let her father stay there, as he had nowhere else to go. She further stated that her father was very temperamental and would often scream at her and her children.

Ducker also learned that an argument on Tuesday, May 1 had been so bad that the daughter told him he would have to move out of the trailer the next day.

Following this demand, the daughter said she saw her father take a gas can into the camper with him.

However, she did not see her father again until arriving home to the scene the following afternoon.

Ducker and the daughter were able to located the gas can about 30 feet from the trailer, looking as if it had been tossed there.

Davidson was not arrested at the scene, instead taken to Terre Haute Regional Hospital for evaluation. However, based on the investigation, Ducker requested a warrant for his arrest for both arson and false informing.

On Tuesday, Deputy Prosecutor Jim Ensley granted the first request, filing the arson charge in court.

The case is being charged as a Level 6 felony, punishable by a sentence of six to 30 months or a fine of up to $10,000.

Depending upon bodily injury and the value of the property, arson can range anywhere from a Level 6 felony to Level 2 (up to 30 years).

Based upon the charges, the camper is estimated to have a value of no more than $5,000.

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