BOSTON, Sept. 9, 2013—A Mattapan man was arraigned today on charges he set fire to his ex-girlfriend’s home early Saturday morning, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

TROY POINDEXTER (D.O.B. 2/8/78) was arraigned in Dorchester District Court on charges of unarmed burglary and arson of a dwelling.  Assistant District Attorney Adam Dumville recommended that he be held on $100,000 cash bail and, if the defendant posts that amount, an order that the defendant stay away from the victim and her residence and wear a GPS tracking device. Judge James Coffey set bail at $30,000 and imposed the recommended conditions.

Members of Boston Police and Fire departments arrived at a multi-family home on Stonehurst Street at approximately 1:40 a.m. Saturday to find flames coming from a second floor porch.  According to prosecutors, the woman who lived in the apartment drew the attention of investigators to Poindexter, who was sitting in a Ford Expedition parked on Stonehurst Street, and told them, “He did it.”

The victim told police that she and Poindexter had a previous relationship that Poindexter had attempted to restart in recent months.  She had received several messages from Poindexter that night.  Upon arriving home that night, she saw Poindexter inside her building and found her porch on fire, prosecutors said.

A witness told police that she saw Poindexter run from the direction of the fire and quickly enter his vehicle, prosecutors said.

Police noted that Poindexter appeared to be sweating heavily when they approached him inside the SUV, prosecutors said.  He initially told police that he had parked in the area to go to a convenience store, but when informed by officers that no stores were open in the area at that hour, he allegedly made statements that he was there to talk to the victim but denied being near the house or setting the fire, prosecutors said.

Conley said his office will be reviewing the case an incident of domestic violence and urged victims of any crime, including DV, to call 911 in an emergency. SafeLink, a statewide DV hotline, can be reached at 877-785-2020. SafeLink is answered by trained advocates 24 hours a day in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, as well as TTY at 877-521-2601. It also has the capacity to provide multilingual translation in more than 140 languages.

Everyone inside the building at the time of the fire – including four minors age 6 to 15 – escaped without injury.

Members of the Boston Fire Department Fire Investigation Unit found evidence that lighter fluid was used to start the porch fire, prosecutors said. Authorities estimated that the fire caused about $50,000 in damage, mainly to the building’s exterior.

Poindexter will return to court on Oct. 9.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.