University of Wisconsin-Madison Police arrested a 19-year-old UW-Madison student Saturday after the student set fire to a bulletin board in Sellery Hall, according to UWPD spokesperson Marc Lovicott.
Police responded to fire alarms in Sellery Hall at approximately 2:15 a.m. Saturday and determined the source was a bulletin board on the ninth floor of the B Tower in the residence hall. The damage was contained to the bulletin board and no structural damage was found, Lovicott said.
After conducting interviews with witnesses, UWPD determined Brent E. Newman was responsible for setting the fire.
A house fellow had written up Newman earlier Saturday morning for urinating in the women’s restroom shower stalls. After speaking with him, police believe the student set the bulletin board outside the house fellow’s room on fire in retaliation for being disciplined.
“We interviewed him and talked to him and he admitted to starting the fire. And at that point he was arrested and was taken to the Dane County Jail,” Lovicott said.
Newman was booked on charges of negligent handling of burning materials and criminal damage to property, according to a UWPD report.
