Milwaukee man charged; set house on fire and posted video to TikTok
Brandon Armstrong-Jones
MILWAUKEE - A 23-year-old Milwaukee man has been accused of setting a house on fire in Milwaukee on Saturday, July 22. The accused, Brandon Armstrong-Jones, is facing one count of arson.
According to a criminal complaint, Milwaukee police responded to a fire near 98th and Melvina around 1:30 a.m. A firefighter stated the fire appeared to have started in the front right room of the house.
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Later around 3 a.m., officers responded to a Walgreens near North and Mayfair after an employee said a man said he "just set his house on fire." Police approached the man who said he set his house on fire and identified him as Armstrong-Jones. When approached, Armstrong-Jones said he wanted to "plead the fifth."
Police told Armstrong-Jones that he wasn't in custody because officers did not know what was going on. Armstrong-Jones then said, "I set my house on fire," and handed the officer a pink lighter. The officer then detained Armstrong-Jones and searched his belongings to find a black backpack, a laptop, and a pink lighter.
The criminal complaint said Armstrong-Jones stated he set his house on fire, recorded it, and uploaded the video to TikTok. The Walgreens employee said Armstrong-Jones told her the video "was for the kids."
Armstrong-Jones appeared in Milwaukee County court on Monday, July 24.