SOPHIA, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A Sophia man is in jail after allegedly setting fire to his home so his neighbors above him couldn’t get out.
According to the State Fire Marshal’s Office, on March 31, 2021, John Wayne Maxwell told investigators that he tried to set fire to his home in Sophia. Maxwell stated that he had had disagreements with his neighbors who lived above him and constantly made noise when he was trying to sleep. Maxwell stated he spoke with the female neighbor of the apartment above him about the issue and that she stated to him that her significant other was going to unload the chamber of his gun through the floor at him to take care of him.
Maxwell stated that he then went home saw his clothes piled up in the entrance to his apartment; he then saw some liquid the maintenance man left. He smelled the liquid and then poured it on his clothes on the floor and ignited them to set fire to keep the neighbors from getting out of the apartment above. Maxwell then gathered his dogs and left the apartment.
Maxwell is charged with an attempt to commit a felony and first-degree arson. He is currently being held in Southern Regional Jail under a 50,000 dollar bond.
