Troopers jail Fairbanks man on arson charge after device thrown through home window

Alaska State Troopers jailed a 40-year-old Fairbanks man on a first-degree arson charge after someone threw a homemade firebomb, which troopers called an improvised incendiary device, through the window of a Fairbanks home early Wednesday.

The resident called troopers at 12:01 am Wednesday. The resident said someone was on the porch and threw an object that broke a window near the front door, according to the trooper dispatch. The home is in a neighborhood near the Steese Highway and Chena Hot Springs Road.

Troopers went to the home and determined the object thrown through the window was an improvised incendiary device. A state deputy fire marshal and a crime scene technician also went to the home to examine the scene further.

The resident gave troopers an accurate description of the suspect vehicle. Several neighbors then saw the vehicle and called it in because it was being driven on their properties, troopers said.

Troopers found the vehicle and contacted the driver, a 40-year-old Fairbanks man. He was taken to Fairbanks Correctional Center. The dispatch does not say whether he is still held there.

Besides first-degree arson, he faces charges of third-degree criminal mischief, first-degree criminal trespass, driving under the influence and fourth-degree assault on a peace officer. Troopers did not describe what led to the assault charge.

Troopers said the charges are accusations and that the man is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The investigation is ongoing, troopers said.