Man arrested on arson charge
A Shelley man was arrested in Idaho Falls on suspicion of first-degree arson early Monday morning.
The incident happened on the 100 block of Whittier around 2 a.m.
Police said Michael B. Looney, 49, lit a blanket on fire with a BIC lighter. The blanket caught the rest of the bedroom on fire. He then barricaded the door, and witnesses said he threatened to burn the house down.
Looney jumped out the bedroom window.
Others in the house used an ax to break into the room and put the fire out.
Looney was booked into the Bonneville County Jail.
