Perryville man accused of setting fire to woman's apartment

A Perryville, Missouri, man is accused of breaking into a woman's apartment and setting it on fire.

Justin Paul Behrle, 31, of Perryville was arrested Saturday on charges of arson, burglary, property damage and resisting arrest. A new judge in the case was requested Tuesday, and Benjamin Lewis was assigned as the new judge Wednesday.

Perryville police responded to a call from a woman who said she saw Behrle breaking into an apartment on Wichern Road. Police received a second call that the apartment was then on fire, according to a probable-cause statement from Detective Teresa Cox.

Police picked up Behrle at an adjacent apartment building because he was having a loud argument with his father.

"What did you do?" the father asked, according to Cox's report.

The witness' description of Behrle's clothes matched what he was wearing when he was arrested. Officers forced Behrle into a patrol vehicle after he refused to comply, according to the report.

"The victim's apartment was noted to have significant, fire, water and smoke damage," Cox wrote.

Behrle admitted to police he used a driver's license to gain access into the victim's apartment when she did not respond to a cellphone call, Cox wrote.

The victim said Behrle called her at least 10 times the previous night, including one call when he said "he was coming over in 5 minutes and was going to shoot his brain out in front of her door so she would have to live with it," Cox wrote in her report.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address: 11 E. Wichern Road