Police: Arson Suspect Arrested Saturday

Howard County Police charged a 25-year-old Columbia man with assault and malicious burning after he allegedly set fire to an apartment on Harpers Farm Road Friday night while police were investigating an assault.

Police arrested Alejandro Adolfo Rodriguez, of the 5300 block of Harpers Farm Road, around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday after officers searching for him saw him walking on Eliots Oak Road in Columbia. He was arrested without incident, according to police.

Police said when they arrived at the Harpers Farm Road residence Friday to investigate a reported assault, Rodriguez yelled obscenities at officers from a second-story window. Shortly after, a fire could be seen in the building, according to police.

Rodriguez fled out of a rear window when police attempted to apprehend him, said police.

Police spoke with a female at the scene who said she was assaulted by a male who lived in the apartment building, possibly Rodriguez, according to police.

Howard County firefighters extinguished the fire and evacuated the building. Seventeen residents were relocated, according to police. No injuries were reported as a result of the fire.

Rodriguez was charged with first- and second-degree assault and first- and second-degree malicious burning. Police said a mugshot of Rodriguez is not currently available.

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