Steve Jefferson/Eyewitness News
Indianapolis - Prosecutors filed arson charges Wednesday against a former Metro police officer.
Jesse Russell Jr. bonded out of jail after his May 27 arrest. He will have an initial court hearing on the felony charges Thursday morning.
Arson investigators believe Russell is responsible for several fires to apartments and vehicles, but Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi doesn't know why he allegedly started the fire.
"I am not saying this about Mr. Russell, but there are individuals who have a tendency to have a hero complex," said Brizzi.
Russell's charges include six counts of felony arson and felony criminal mischief. The former cop is suspected of an arson at the Park Haven apartment complex.
"Mr. Russell says he was able to see the fire smoldering from the skylight area and, by all accounts, that is not a possibility," said Brizzi.
Russell is out on bond, but still not answering the door at his apartment. He's suspected of a fire set to his own neighbors' apartments, where flames burned through the upstairs.
Two different investigators talked to Russell about how he discovered the fire and say they got two different stories.
"He was sleeping and smelled smoke and got up and told another investigator he was walking upstairs to his apartment at the end of his shift and smelled the smoke," Brizzi said.
Investigators believe Russell also set a string of vehicle fires. Prosecutors say he overturned a fireman joke about no one setting fire to Indy's well-known Chicken Mobile.
"And the next day, guess what? The chicken car is set on fire," Brizzi said.
The 31-year-old Russell quit the police force right before his arrest.
"He may have admitted to some and then recanted," Brizzi said.
Now, Russell will have his day in court to defend himself against allegations that it was he who started fire after fire. Brizzi says once in court Thursday morning, he and investigators will decide on asking the judge to either keep Russell in custody or place him on a home detention device.
Brizzi says Russell could face a jail sentence of 6-20 years in prison if convicted.
