Man facing arson charge after Molotov cocktail suspected in Edmond house fire

EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) - A man originally arrested on a public intoxication complaint is now facing an arson charge after investigators suspect a Molotov cocktail was used to start an Edmond house fire Tuesday.

According to the arrest report, officers were originally called to an altercation at a gas station near Danforth and Santa Fe around 1 a.m. Tuesday.

Witnesses said a man, now identified as 36-year-old Brandon Gage, appeared to be very intoxicated when he entered the convenience store and began rapping, yelling racial slurs at the clerk and making threatening comments about the clerk's daughter, before running off.

During the interview with the clerk, the clerk told investigators that Gage at some point said, "something to the extent of 'if you hear about a fire, I started it,'" and then "stated he poured gasoline on a house and left it burning."

"This statement about starting a fire caught my attention because at [12:36 a.m.], I assisted [the Edmond Fire Department] with a structure fire at [a house on W. Bowman], which is just a few miles down the road," one officer reported.

A short time later, Gage's mother called authorities for a welfare check on her son, saying he was screaming and ranting "for no apparent reason."

Officers said Gage smelled strongly of alcohol and marijuana when they arrived at his mother's home near Santa Fe and Edmond Rd.

Gage was arrested on a public intoxication complaint for the disturbances at the gas station and his mother's home.

When investigators asked Gage's mother about the fire, she said that Gage had threatened to burn her house down multiple times and told her he had the ingredients for a Molotov cocktail.

Fire investigators also told officers it looked like a Molotov cocktail may have been used to start the W. Bowman house fire.

Now, Gage sits in the Oklahoma County Jail on an arson complaint.

He is being held on a $50,000 bond.