RICHFIELD, Utah — A Richfield man caught on video attempting to burn down his ex-wife's home while she and her family were inside has been arrested and faces numerous charges, including Attempted Murder.
Delmar Barney, 38, was taken into custody Sunday after he allegedly made repeated attempts to set fire to the home of his ex-wife, who has a protective order against him. Richfield Police claimed its investigation showed that Barney tried four separate times to burn down the house.
The relationship between Barney and those who live in the home, if any, has not been released.
Both the Richfield Police and Fire departments were first called to the home on Sept. 11 after it was found that someone had started a fire outside the house.
Similar incidents at the same location occurred on Sept. 15 and Sept. 22, with a suspect fleeing the area before authorities arrived.
Early Sunday morning, a newly-installed security camera showed a suspect, later identified as Barney, throwing a flaming object through a bedroom window at the home, setting it on fire, and awakening the residents.
According to the Richfield Police Department, the bedroom targeted with the flaming object was occupied. The entire house, which has been deemed unlivable at the moment, suffered smoke damage, while the targeted room was damaged by the fire.
Barney's ex-wife assisted the police with their investigation, pointing out his shoes, which matched a shoe print found at the scene, as well as recognizing the gloves he was wearing.
While serving a warrant inside Barney's home, police found him wearing similar shoes to those of the suspect in the video and in the same size. Inside a washing machine, police found items that had an odor of accelerant.
Police determined that Barney was responsible for all four incidents, and he was arrested after multiple search warrants were served at his Richfield home.
"Barney has shown a complete disregard for the protective order that was in place to safeguard the victim in this case," police said. "His actions placed the victims in immediate danger of serious bodily injury or death."
Barney was charged with 2 counts of Attempted Murder, 3 counts of Aggravated Arson, 8 counts of Aggravated Assault and 4 counts of Protective Order Violation.
