Man Arrested for Setting Garbage Cans on Fire

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An out-of-state man went on an early morning rampage on the Upper West Side, setting two garbage cans on fire and causing damage to multiple vehicles.

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As the NY Daily News reported, a “white man wearing a hooded long coat, blue jeans and a blue backpack was seen setting fire to a garbage can” right outside 40 West 77th Street (between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue) at about 3:30 a.m. this morning. The flames spread and damaged two cars parked nearby.

The second incident occurred less than an hour later–NYPD officials tell us it was 4:10 a.m.–when the same suspect set fire to a garbage can at 82nd and Columbus Avenue.

The individual fled on foot but was caught and arrested at 6:46 a.m.

Police tell ILTUWS the suspect has been identified as 38-year-old Michael Patterson of Tigard, Oregon. He’s been slapped with two counts of criminal mischief, two counts of reckless endangerment and six counts of arson.

A very similar series of events took place on the Upper East Side late last month, though it hasn’t been confirmed if Patterson was behind those fires as well.

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