PB man arrested for arson, child endangerment

A Poplar Bluff man was arrested Sunday for allegedly setting fire to his ex-girlfriend’s home while she and her children were asleep inside.

At about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Poplar Bluff police and firefighters responded to a home in the 1800 block of Zehm Avenue, where a fire had occurred the previous night.

The homeowner, a 30-year-old female, reported she woke Sunday morning to find notification on her cellphone, which said her surveillance video system had been activated the night before, Capt. David Sutton said in a news release.

Upon reviewing the footage, Sutton said, the woman saw her ex-boyfriend, Gabriel Womack, allegedly enter her home just after midnight.

While on an enclosed porch, Womack, according to a fire report, allegedly set some boxes on fire.

The fire, Sutton said, self extinguished, and Womack left the residence.

“The homeowner and her three children were asleep inside the residence at the time of this incident,” Sutton said.

Womack, 30, of the 2300 block of Orr Street was arrested at 11 a.m. at his residence on suspicion of first-degree arson, first-degree burglary and three counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

He was booked at the Butler County jail, where he also is being held on a no bond warrant for probation violation.

At about 1:45 p.m., police officers executed a search warrant at Womack’s residence in an attempt to locate the clothing he was wearing at the time of the alleged arson, according Lt. Josh Stewart.

Nothing reportedly was found during the search, he said.