A Caledonia man is behind bars for allegedly burning his own mobile home, apparently to make his girlfriend leave.
Aaron Augustinowicz, 62, was arrested and charged with arson over the weekend after he allegedly set fire to his Cal Vernon Road residence Saturday, according to Lowndes County Justice Court documents. Augustinowicz poured gasoline in multiple locations in the house before setting it on fire, the documents stated.
At the scene, Augustinowicz told deputies burning the building was the only way to get his girlfriend out of the house.
But the girlfriend told deputies Augustinowicz set the fire after they had a physical fight over the suspect having a new girlfriend.
Three days later, Augustinowicz changed his story by telling deputies the main reason he burned the home was because it was in poor physical shape, and he wanted a new one. He also told deputies he’d been trying to break up with his girlfriend for “a long time.”
Court records indicate Augustinowicz had not removed personal property from the home at the time the fire was set.
Augustinowicz is in custody at the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center with bond set at $25,000.
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