(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Prosecutors in northwest Indiana say they charged the wrong guy after a fire was set at the Lake County Jail on June 5.
Authorities previously said they believed the deliberately set fire was the work of an area resident whom they identified in public bulletins. Surveillance video they released showed a man spreading accelerant in the jail lobby before lighting the substance and exiting.
It turns out, however, another suspect -- 40-year-old Terrance Craig of Gary, Indiana – has been charged in connection with the incident. Charges were dropped against the other man, officials said.
Officials did not offer an explanation for the mistake but released a copy of an affidavit containing information that led them to Craig. The document says a Hammond police officer encountered a “suspicious person” on Monday – Craig -- who admitted to starting the fire at the jail.
Craig was charged with two counts of arson and one count of intimidation, the Times of Northwest Indiana reports.
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