A Bristol Township man is facing felony charges after police allege he committed three different crimes over 10 days last month.
Most recently Domingo Perez-Colon, 53, was arraigned Sept. 9 before District Judge Kevin Wagner on a felony charge of arson and misdemeanor reckless endangering after he allegedly set a fire in his apartment.
Police and fire companies responded to a report of smoke in a building housing 33 apartments at the Levittown Trace complex in the 3000 block of Ford Road on Aug. 22, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The hallway in the âFâ building of the complex was filled with smoke and residents were being evacuated when police noted an open door on the third-floor of the building. Inside, a maintenance man was extinguishing
a fire on a kitchen table.
When police questioned the tenant of the apartment, identified as Perez-Colon, he allegedly told them that he lights batteries on fire in an attempt to smoke them.
A fire investigation found ash from the extinguished fire on the kitchen table contained a large amount of paper and a partially melted nicotine vape device, the affidavit said. A second partially burned nicotine vape was found in the kitchen sink.
Investigators also found multiple cellphones disassembled with only the batteries missing and a partially burned battery on the floor near a couch.
Court records show that the day before the fire, Bristol Township police arrested Perez-Colon on suspicion of driving under the influence and traffic violations. On Aug. 31, he was again charged, this time with felony criminal trespassing, also in Bristol Township, according to the docket.
Perez-Colon remains incarcerated in Bucks County Correctional Center in lieu of $150,000 bail. He had no legal representation listed as of Sept. 10, according to the public court docket.
Crime and Courts Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bristol Twp man 'smoking batteries' started apartment fire: Police
