A man is accused of setting fire to a closed Piggly Wiggly because homeless people were living inside the building, Metro Police said in an arrest warrant.
Arthur Q. Pettway, 61, is charged with aggravated arson and jailed in Davidson County.
Police said Pettway reportedly admitted to setting the fire at a former Piggly Wiggly, located at 921 Dickerson Pike in East Nashville, on Sunday.
Five homeless people had been living inside a structure attached to the building. The arrest warrant alleges Pettway and the homeless people have been in multiple arguments over the past several weeks. Police were told the person who set the fire lived across the street. When police questioned Pettway, he reportedly said he knew people were living in the building, so he went there, told the occupants to leave and said he was going to set the building on fire in an hour.
Pettway then went to the gas station, got a half gallon of gasoline and poured it just inside the front door, setting the building on fire, police said.