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Avondale Estates, GA — A Conyers man is facing an arson charge after being accused of smoking meth and then setting a car on fire in Avondale Estates.

Police also determined that the car, a Toyota Scion, was registered to an owner in Augusta but had a tag registered to another vehicle.

Avondale Estates Police arrived at 94 Dartmouth Avenue on May 23 around 3 a.m. Police received a call about a man in a yellow jacket actively pouring gasoline on a burning car. When police arrived, they saw a car engulfed in 20-foot-high flames. The fire threatened to spread to nearby residences. Two people exited the home at 94 Dartmouth and were ordered to the street, telling officers no one else was inside. Police would later find two people inside: one on a toilet and one sleeping in the living room. Police learned the man sleeping in the living room had arrived in the car with the suspect. The car had not been reported stolen.

A DeKalb County Fire Rescue Engine arrived and began putting out the blaze. At this point, the suspect approached an officer from the back of the residence. He was taken into custody and placed in the back of a patrol vehicle while officers checked on his welfare.

“He was acting erratic, screaming, and flailing about in the back seat,” the police report says.

The officer asked the suspect if he was under the influence of anything.

The suspect replied, “Meth. There’s meth in there, all in the house.”

The officer asked the suspect how much meth was in the house.

“I’m very smart,” the suspect replied, according to the report. “I’m not illiterate, none of that. I’m going to beat this case pro se.”

The officer asked if the suspect had called 911, since he wasn’t sure if he was dealing with the suspect or a witness.

“No, I started the fire,” the suspect replied. “I blew up both them cars. Book me.”

Police said the suspect told them he had smoked an ounce of methamphetamine over the course of three hours, according to the report.

The man was strapped to a stretcher, given a sedative and transported to Grady Hospital. Police didn’t interview him because he admitted he had been smoking meth, the report says.

The burning vehicle was “a total loss” and the fire damaged 94 Dartmouth Avenue and the fence line of a neighboring property. Police requested assistance from an arson investigator.

The suspect is facing an arson charge in connection to the incident. Police are still investigating the fire.

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