A man is facing multiple charges after an incident involving weapons and a house fire in north Lethbridge.
Lethbridge Police Service officers responded to a home near Dave Elton Park on Stafford Drive around 1:50 p.m. on May 30 after getting a report a man was threatening a woman. Police say she was able to leave the home safely and the man refused to leave.
“When confronted by police the male brandished two hatchets and began to approach the officers. He refused to drop the weapons and would not leave the residence. Police confirmed no one else was inside and the home was subsequently contained,” reads a news release from LPS.
Members of the Critical Incident Team were deployed and police made multiple attempts to contact the man, who they say began throwing objects out a window.
“A short time later smoke and flames were observed inside the home. Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services attended and were able to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to a neighbouring home. While firefighters were working to put out the fire, the male exited the home and was subsequently apprehended by Police Service Dog Robby. He was treated for non-life-threatening injuries,” the news release says.
Police say it was learned the man did not live at the home but was staying there temporarily. The house is uninhabitable because of fire damage and no one was injured aside from the suspect.
Joe Zwart, 38, of Cowley, faces charges of arson, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public and two counts each of mischief, assaulting a peace officer and failing to comply with a release order.
Zwart is in custody awaiting a Judicial Interim Release hearing.
BACKGROUND: One person in custody following high risk incident on Stafford Drive North
