February 4, 2009 - Man Arrested on Two Counts of Simple Arson

Simple arson at 5530 Kent Avenue

Shreveport Fire Investigators have arrested a man charged with two counts of simple arson at 5530 Kent Avenue in Shreveport. Shreveport Fire crews responded to the address last night at 6:38 PM to find an outside storage building fully involved. The storage building was extinguished within 20 minutes.

After the fire, 29 year old Walter Hallett, a residence of 5515 Kent Avenue, told a fire officer on scene that he had set the fire. Hallett was immediately taken into custody and charged with simple arson. While being transported to the jail, Hallett also admitted to setting the residence at the same address on fire in 2008. Hallett was officially charged with two counts of simple arson which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines.

Fire department reports do confirmed that SFD did respond to 5530 Kent Avenue for a structure fire on December 8, 2008. There were no injuries at the earlier residence fire or the storage building fire last night.