HAGERSTOWN, Md. — An Anne Arundel County contractor working on a house in western Maryland tried to set the house on fire after barricading himself inside, said the Maryland State Fire Marshal.
David A. Wilhelm, 39, told investigators "he was having a bad day."
Wilhelm lived in a trailer while he worked on a home on Cool Hollow Road in Hagerstown. On Tuesday, he "suddenly became agitated with the property owner" and set a mattress on fire in his trailer's bedroom. He then barricaded himself in the house, and the property owner called 911.
When law enforcement arrived, he threatened to burn down the house, tried to pour gas in a third-floor bedroom, and barricaded himself inside, according to a press release.
Wilhelm ultimately surrendered after several hours and was charged with first-degree arson, malicious first-degree burning, arson threat, and reckless endangerment. He was ordered held without bond at Washington County Detention Center
