A 59-year-old Manning man was charged about 10:15 a.m. Nov. 19 with attempted arson after allegedly pouring gas all over a kitchen floor at a home in the 200 block of East Keitt Street but failing to find a lighter to start the fire.
Police reported that witnesses said Joe Jerry Lewis, 59, of 202 E. Keitt St. in Manning, had poured gas in the floor using a bleach jug, and that he was searching the home for a lighter when officers arrived.
A woman and other residents of the home told police that they were cleaning up the kitchen when Lewis allegedly entered the kitchen with a gallon jug of gas that was for the lawn mower and poured it in the floor.