Built little houses, but they fell apart: a nervous arsonist was caught in Riga 0 5

On the Day of Proclamation of Independence of Latvia, November 18, law enforcement received information about the intentional arson of a bench near one of the apartment buildings in the Teika neighborhood. A criminal process was initiated and residents of the building were interviewed.

Two days later, police officers arrived at the scene, where they met a man born in 1984, who explained that he did not intend to burn the bench and deeply regrets his actions.

The man indicated that he has a rather unusual hobby — building various structures out of matchsticks. In this case, in addition to the houses he had already built, he wanted to create a matchstick church; however, the intended construction did not succeed, and likely succumbing to emotions, he set fire to all the houses he had built. The man was engaged in his hobby on the bench by the house, which burned down along with all his matchstick structures.

The man has been detained, and a preventive measure not related to deprivation of liberty has been applied to him. He has previously come to the attention of the police multiple times due to various offenses.

A criminal process has been initiated under the article on intentional destruction or damage to someone else's property if it was committed by arson.

For such a crime, a penalty of imprisonment for up to ten years is provided.