Cops: Ex-boyfriend wrecked woman's home, then tried to burn it down

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By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

An Atlanta man wrecked his ex-girlfriend's Lithonia house before setting it on fire, police said.

Channel 2 Action News Wayman Dewayne Mitchell, 46, of Atlanta was arrested Wednesday and charged with arson and making terroristic threats after he allegedly wrecked his ex-girlfriend's Lithonia house and then set it on fire.

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Wayman Dewayne Mitchell, 46, was arrested Wednesday and charged with arson and making terroristic threats, DeKalb County Jail records showed. He remained in custody without bond Friday.

Mitchell broke into his ex-girlfriend's home after she and her children left the morning of Jan. 24, according to a DeKalb County police report obtained by the AJC.

A neighbor called the woman at work to tell her the family's house was on fire, police said. She returned to find her house in flames, firefighters working to extinguish the blaze and the home's interior a shambles.

The woman told investigators she suspected Mitchell was responsible because she had had problems with him since their breakup, and that she had tried to get a temporary restraining order, according to police.

Mitchell destroyed "every fixture possible" in the house using an ax, hammer or baseball bat, the incident report said. The bed in the master bedroom was then set on fire, destroying the room's furniture and clothes, police said.

The suspect also went into the home's garage and broke out windshields and windows in a vehicle, according to police.