DETROIT (WWJ) – A 57-year-old Detroit man has been charged with arson for an incident at a downtown gas station earlier this week that officials say could have been much worse.
Jessie Tom Day was arraigned Thursday on two counts of fourth-degree arson and one count of possessing or manufacturing an explosive device.
Around 6:30 p.m. Monday, Day allegedly pulled into the Speedway gas station on E. Jefferson Avenue near I-375 with “a large number of explosive materials in his vehicle,” according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
Day allegedly set fire to the inside of his car before running from the scene, according to the prosecutor’s office. He came back a little less than an hour later and lit the outside of the car on fire, prosecutors allege.
He was arrested later the same day. Police told WWJ on Tuesday morning a gas station employee quickly noticed the fire had been set and used a fire extinguisher to put it out, preventing a possible disaster.
“I cannot even begin to imagine how much loss of life and property that could have occurred,” Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a press release. “We are very fortunate that the explosive materials found at the gas station did not explode. Detroit firefighters might still have been fighting this fire.”
He was arraigned Thursday evening and received a $1 million bond. A bond redetermination hearing will be held on Monday.
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