By Anthony Rifilato
Police detained Jaymes C. Buckley, of 276 Deville Road in Copiague, after he intentionally started a fire beneath the wood porch of his ex-girlfriend's home at 2840 Verity Lane, police said.
Buckley allegedly ignited a bag of charcoal briquettes with a combustible liquid. Luckily, neighbors noticed the smoke and extinguished the fire. They also pursued Buckley on foot, though he managed to flee in a car.
"There were witnesses who observed this person," said Baldwin Police Department Spokesman Lt. Kevin Smith.
The Baldwin Fire Department responded with two trucks and 20 firefighters, and there were no injuries or damage to the house.
"Obviously, he could have set the house on fire," said Baldwin Fire Chief Doug Weidmann.
Police and neighbors said the couple have had spats in the past. "Prior to this incident occurring, there was a domestic dispute," said Smith.
Neighbors who live along this stretch of Verity Lane, between Church Street and Atlantic Avenue, said that although they frequently heard domestic disputes at the woman's house, they were shocked to hear about the attempted arson.
Buckley's ex-girlfriend, who asked not to be identified, said she and Buckley had split up in April, and that she had a restraining order against him. She said that although he was angry over the breakup, she never expected behavior this extreme, and said she felt safer now that he was behind bars.
"This is the first time I saw him acting this bizarre," she said. "He should be in a psychiatric hospital."
The woman, who lives in a multi-family home, said she was in her apartment at the time and that neighbors rushed over to alert everyone in the house. "They banged on the doors and told us to get out," she said.
After neighbors chased Buckley, she said they hosed down the area under the front porch to put out remaining flames and wash away what she said was lighter fluid.
Buckley was arrested on Aug. 26 after he surrendered to the Arson/Bomb Squad. He was charged with second-degree criminal contempt and second-degree attempted arson. He was arraigned on Aug. 27 at First District Court in Hempstead.
