BATON ROUGE, La. — Authorities have arrested a Stonewall, Louisiana man for allegedly attempting to defraud an insurance company by intentionally setting his pickup truck on fire.
Thomas Tyler, 44, reportedly admitted to State Fire Marshal (SFM) deputies that he set his 2024 Chevrolet 1500 pickup truck ablaze with the intention of collecting insurance money. Deputies booked Tyler into the DeSoto Parish Detention Center on Monday, charging him with arson with the intent to defraud.
The incident occurred shortly after 4 a.m. on January 11, on Interstate 49 at the Mansfield exit. Firefighters from DeSoto Fire District No. 8 found the pickup truck engulfed in flames upon their arrival. SFM deputies also responded and questioned Tyler at the scene. Initially, Tyler claimed that he had tossed a cigarette out of the window, which then ignited a gas can located in the truck bed. However, during the investigation, Tyler changed his story and confessed to the crime, according to the state fire marshal’s office.
