WINDSOR, Pa. — A 28-year-old York County man has been charged with attempted homicide and aggravated arson after police say he started a fire at a Lower Windsor Township trailer with four occupants inside.
Zamien Lavellen Duncan, of the 100 block of Zeigler Park Road, Windsor, is also charged with arson of an inhabited building or structure, four counts of recklessly endangering another person, risking a catastrophe, and criminal mischief, according to the State Police Deputy Fire Marshal Colby Shesko, who filed a criminal complaint affidavit against him.
Shesko was part of the investigation of an August 7, 2020 fire at a mobile home on Zeigler Park Road. Lower Windsor Township Police contacted Shesko when a green bottle containing a suspected accelerant was discovered at the fire scene, the complaint states.
The bottle was found under the mobile home, tucked into the insulation, Shesko said.
The occupants of the trailer were a couple and two children, the complaint states. One of the occupants said he noticed the smell of smoke inside the trailer, found the bottle tucked into the insulation, and removed it. The fire extinguished itself and the victims contacted 911, according to the complaint.
Over the course of the investigation, Duncan was developed as a suspect and interviewed by police. He submitted to a polygraph test on Tuesday, police say.
During a pre-test interview, Duncan allegedly admitted that he had a previous relationship with one of the occupants of the trailer and was upset that they had begun dating someone else. He also admitted to a previous arrest on arson and terroristic threats charges in 2019, when he allegedly threatened to set a house on fire with a prior girlfriend inside, the complaint states.
After taking the polygraph test, Duncan allegedly admitted that he placed a green Mountain Dew bottle filled with starter fluid under the trailer in the August 2020 incident, police say. He allegedly told investigators he was intoxicated, and went to the trailer intending to start a fire, the complaint states.
Duncan allegedly told police he became upset when he saw two of the trailer's occupants kissing through a window. He said he knew the trailer was occupied when he started the fire, according to the complaint.
Charges against Duncan were filed on Wednesday, the complaint says.
