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SALT LAKE CITY — An arrest has been made in connection with a Feb. 9 building fire in downtown Salt Lake City that caused millions of dollars in damage.
Dustin Jay Bowman, 33, of Bountiful, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail late Friday night for investigation of arson.
Bowman "stated that he did intentionally start a fire in the structure at 540 E. 500 South" on Feb. 9, a jail report states. Fire officials said the blaze caused $2.5 million in damage.
Bowman apparently worked at the construction site. On what appears to be his Facebook page, he lists his occupation as an electrician and posted three photos labeled "downtown fire aftermath" the day after the blaze and included a link to a news story about it.
"Guess I'm not working Monday," one post states. "New House apartment complex construction burnt down. Anybody want to hire an electrician for a day or two? Maybe the boss has some temp power to hook up somewhere or something. Can't really afford a day off."
No official charges have been filed against Bowman.
The U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced the arrest in a news release Saturday afternoon, but the bureau's Denver office spokesman declined to share further details.
"We're not finished with the on-scene investigation," Brad Beyersdorf said Saturday. "Due to the ongoing investigation and continuing judicial process, no further information can be released at this time."
A spokesman from the Salt Lake City Fire department also declined to release further details.
Sunday's blaze decimated the building under construction, which would have been a 64,000-square-foot apartment building, and prompted evacuations of nearby homes and a Smith's Marketplace across the street. It also led to the closure of 500 South between 500 East and 600 East for the better part of the past week.
The construction company working on the building, U.S. Development, told fire officials that no one was in the building when the fire started. No workers were on site that day, and there was no power connected to the building or heat sources inside.
Bowman was also booked on misdemeanor warrants out of the South Salt Lake Justice Court, according to the report. The warrant for the Bowman was issued Dec. 30 and then reissued Jan. 28 in connection with an infraction for failure to pay fare and failure to appear on a citation, a class B misdemeanor.
A search of court records indicates charges against Bowman were filed last year in 2nd District Court. He entered a guilty plea in abeyance to two counts of third-degree felony possession or use of a controlled substance in a case in Farmington and a guilty plea in abeyance to class A misdemeanor counts of use or possession of drug paraphernalia and possession or use of a controlled substance in Bountiful.
A review in the Farmington case is slated for Feb. 27.
