Homeless man charged in Cosmopolitan fire-WEB ONLY

Several people heard Burns say he had set the fire at the
Cosmopolitan on the Canal complex, court papers said.  One of them was a former
girlfriend whom he phoned and told to turn on her television and watch the
blaze. Authorities said Burns told her that he and some friends started the fire
and that he was going to burn down her house, too.

Burns denied being at the fire scene when first questioned by police but
surveillance video showed that Burns was not at a downtown gas station at the
time he had claimed, Brizzi said. Burns later admitted he had been in the
apartment building the night of the fire but said another homeless man, J.
Matthew Zollman, had started the fire using Burns’ lighter.

Zollman, however, told police that Burns admitted he set the fire and boasted
“Look what I did, look at my work,” as they watched it burn from the downtown
library.

Brizzi said gasoline was used to set the pre-dawn fire. Investigators don’t
know how much gasoline was used, but Brizzi said the weather created a wind
tunnel on the canal that accelerated the blaze. He said a gas can found several
blocks from the fire is being processed for DNA evidence.

“I wanted to get this case filed because we have five different people who
overheard or he told that he was the one who started the fire, and to wait any
longer, I think would be potentially harmful to the community,” Brizzi said.

Despite the arrest, Brizzi said the investigation was ongoing.

“In fact, we believe this is just the beginning,” he said, adding that
investigators were looking into why security at the fully insured apartment
complex had been pulled after February.

The fire caused spread to the adjacent headquarters
of the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, causing smoke and water
damage.