MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - The man charged with arson at an abandoned mobile home told Memphis police he was homeless and had started the fire to stay warm.
Shelby County and Memphis Fire crews were called to Countryview Mobile Home Park just before 8 a.m. on Monday, January 7. When they arrived, a vacant mobile home was already over halfway consumed in flames. The fire was knocked down in about 15 minutes.
Officers saw a black car with three white males leaving the area and detained them for questioning. David Lunsford, 28, told police he was homeless and had been living in the abandoned mobile home park for a few days. He started the fire to keep warm, and called a friend to pick him up when it got out of control.
Lunsford was charged with Aggravated Criminal Trespass and Arson. He remains at the Shelby County Jail on a $50,000 bond. The other two men were charged with misdemeanor citations for Criminal Trespass.
The Northaven-area park was abandoned after more than 100 mobile homes were destroyed by historic Mississippi River flood levels in May 2011. The blighted park has been the site of numerous acts of arson and vandalism ever since.
