SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 30, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A 58-year-old man was arrested Friday after he allegedly attempted to burn down a tent with an acquaintance inside.
Christopher Betz was jailed for investigation of aggravated arson and aggravated assault, classified as first- and third-degree felonies. If the case goes to trial, charges will be determined by the Salt Lake County Attorney’s Office.
Betz’s arrest documents say the tent resident called dispatch Thursday at 2:45 p.m. “to report a male that attempted to burn his structure down while he was inside of it.
“The victim said that he (Betz) poured hand sanitizer on his tent, and told him ‘I said I would do what I said I would do,’ then ignited the hand sanitizer,” the probable cause statement says.
The man in the tent was able to put the fire out, but says Betz “returned with a gas can and a silver pole. (Betz) started to assault the victim with the pole through a burned portion of the structure,” says an arrest document filed by an officer of the Salt Lake City Police Department.
Betz “then poured gasoline on his structure and said ‘You have five minutes to pay me my money or else I will ignite the gas.’ Throughout all of these incidents, (Betz) was telling the victim ‘I am going to kill you’ and ‘You are going to end up in the hospital,'” his arrest documents say.
“Arson Investigators responded as well as their K-9. I was informed that the K-9 indicated on a hand sanitizer bottle that was filled with gasoline as well as the structure having gasoline on it. The victim had fresh blood stains on the inside of his pants where he said he was hit.
“The victim described the pole as a silver pole that flattened at one end. During the execution of a search warrant (at a Beck Street residence,) this exact pole was found in his belongings,” the affidavit says.
Betz is “a previously convicted felon with a limited history of failure to appear and fleeing from justice” and “knows the victim well and stays in close proximity to victim,” the arrest document says.
Betz was booked into the Salt Lake County jail system early Friday morning, and was ordered to be held without bail, the affidavit says.
