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WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — A Wichita Falls man is arrested by the fire marshal’s office after they say he got so inflamed about the bed bugs in his motel room he set the mattress on fire.
Michael Culipher is charged with arson involving a habitation, a first degree felony. His bond is set at $25,000, according to records.
On Thursday, September 2, the fire department responded to smoke and fire coming from a room at the Catalina Motel on East Scott. When they entered, firefighters found a mattress was on fire.
The occupant, Culipher, was sitting nearby, and firefighters noticed he had soot on his face and hands.
They say he told them he used lighter fluid to set the mattress on fire because motel management would not do anything about the bed bugs.
The fire marshal’s office was notified and when an investigator arrived, he said Culipher told him to take him to jail because he set fire to the mattress on purpose.
Culipher has previous arrests in Wichita Falls for resisting arrest and assaults.