Wayne Man Sets Neighbor's House On Fire, Manhunt Ensues: Police

WAYNE, NJ — A Wayne man faces multiple charges after setting his neighbor's house on fire, stealing a gun, and fleeing from officers early Saturday, said township police.

Officials said the man left his housemate a note, saying he had lit the fire earlier that day and was planning to steal the housemate's gun and then shoot himself.

Golfers at the Passaic County Golf Course were also briefly held up, as the Totowa Police, New Jersey State Police, and Passaic County Sheriff's Office joined in the search for the man, who was later arrested without incident.

He faces aggravated arson and unlawful possession of a weapon charges, among others.

Wayne Township police responded to reports of flames coming from a home on Totowa Road just before 1 a.m. on July 6, said Detective Captain Dan Daly in a news release.

Officer Adrian Valentin was first on scene, and saw heavy smoke coming from the back of the house, police said. Valentin knocked on the door to get the homeowner to evacuate the residence, then used a fire extinguisher to put out flames by the back door.

Wayne Fire Department Companies #1 and #2 arrived and noticed a gasoline smell from the fire, and first responders spotted a substance around the outside of the home that did look like gas, the news release said.

Police then secured the area as a crime scene and waited for arson investigators to arrive. Valentin was stationed at the scene when a man from a neighboring home came up around 6:09 a.m. and said a housemate left a suicide note.

The note stated that his housemate "had set fire to the neighbor’s house and had stolen (the man's) handgun and was going to commit suicide," police said.

The locks had been cut off of the first man's gun safe, and Valentin alerted dispatch to begin searching for the other man, later identified as 40-year-old Hector Lobo.

An electronic ping of the Lobo's cell phone number showed the phone to be in the area of Totowa Road, and authorities set a perimeter around the area, Daly said. A Sheriff's Office K9 tried to locate him, and the Passaic County Golf Course was briefly asked to hold all golfers off the green, police said.

Officials said an updated ping showed the phone to be in a wooded area near the original crime scene. Officer Valentin located Lobo, who had a handgun in his waistband, behind the house and sent a radio call for support.

Wayne PD Officer Nicole Mott and others quickly responded, and they were able to disarm Lobo and take him into custody, Daly said.

First responders transported him to a hospital for evaluation, and police have charged him on a warrant with aggravated arson, unlawful possession of a weapon, theft, and criminal mischief.