A 39-year-old Wamac man is in the Marion County Jail after he was arrested Saturday for alleged arson and criminal damage to property.

According to reports, Chad Evans allegedly set fire to a riding lawn mower at his mother’s home on Gompers Street.
Evans reportedly damaged the inside of the home before going outside, breaking a window in the shed and then setting fire to a riding lawnmower owned by a man on North Walnut Street in Centralia.

The incident reportedly followed an earlier confrontation Evans had with the owner of the lawnmower.

Centralia Fire Protection firefighters arrived after the fire was already extinguished with a garden hose.

Evans left the scene before Wamac police arrived but 42-year-old Melissa Schulte, of Central City was arrested later for obstruction of justice when she arrived at the scene in Evans’ van and allegedly refused to tell officers where she had taken him.

Officers did locate Evans later and took him into custody. Both Evans and Schulte remain in the Marion County Jail.