The American Red Cross advises remembering the word PASS when using a fire extinguisher. Wochit
A convicted arsonist is accused of sparking a series of dumpster fires in Gilbert.
Richard Lee Schmidt, 29, was arrested Wednesday at approximately 1:30 a.m. after police saw him close to the location of a dumpster fire by a Goodwill, court records show.
Police said they pulled Schmidt over for driving a motorized scooter without a working headlight. He was placed under arrest because of his history of starting fires and his admission to being in the area where the fire occurred, according to a probable cause statement.
Court records show Schmidt pleaded guilty to an arson charge in 2014, and pleaded guilty to two counts of arson in 2015, after which he served 18 months in the Arizona Department of Corrections.
In the latest incident, Schmidt told officers that he started a fire by flicking a cigarette into a dumpster by a Goodwill near Gilbert and Guadalupe roads, police said in court records.
During the same interview, Schmidt told police that he started two other fires Dec. 11 and may have started three more, but he could not remember, records show. Police estimate the fires caused approximately $25,000 in damages.
Schmidt was indicted Friday on three counts of arson, according to court documents. His bond was set at $50,000 and his next court appearance is Dec. 20 in Maricopa County Superior Court.
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