WASHINGTON COUNTY, MD – The suspect involved in a fire at a trailer behind a home on Cool Hollow Road on March 8th has been charged with arson, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office.
David A. Wilhelm, 39, of Anne Arundel County faces arson charges after setting a Hagerstown trailer on fire and then barricading himself in a house he was helping to work on yesterday.
Police said Wilhelm was working on a home that afternoon at 20033 Cool Hollow Road when he suddenly became agitated with the property owner.
“Wilhelm, who lived in a trailer behind the home, ran inside and intentionally set a mattress on fire inside the trailer’s bedroom. The property owner called 911, and Wilhelm exited the trailer and went inside the owners’ house he was contracted to work on,” the Fire Marshal’s Office said. “Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland and Maryland State Police arrived on scene to assist.”
Upon contacting him inside, Wilhelm threatened to burn the house down and attempted to pour gas inside a third-floor bedroom. In hopes of deescalating the situation, deputies exited, and Wilhelm barricaded himself in the house.
After several hours, Wilhelm agreed to surrender and was taken into custody by Deputy State Fire Marshals. Wilhelm later told investigators he was having a bad day.