Tempe Police: Man arrested for 2016 molotov cocktail arson incident

TEMPE, Ariz. (KSAZ) -- Fred Wilson West, 47, was arrested recently at his home in Tempe and charged with arson.

All of this stemming from an incident dating back to June of 2016.

The victim in this case, Carolyn Estes. She's the grandmother of his ex.

Estes didn't want us to show her face, but she did agree to talk with Fox 10's Danielle Miller.

"I knew it was someone that knew not just me, but my grandkids. I knew it had to be someone like that," Estes said.

Estes says back in 2016 a neighbor came over to tell her that her roof was on fire.

Luckily, there was only minor damage, but after this investigation, she knew things could have been much worse.

"The fire marshal got on top of the house and when he got on top of the house, he saw all of the gas bottles up there. About six big bottles up there full of gas. T-shirts up there and everything. He was really trying to get me," Estes said.

West is believed to have put the molotov cocktails on the roof.

The Codis System recently had a positive hit from a crime lab in Pennsylvania. West's fingerprints matched the ones on the glass bottles.

Estes says West lived in the home years before the incident. She's still unsure why he targeted her and her home.

"I even asked him and he told me no, I wouldn't do that. Yes, I even asked him and he said I wouldn't do that to you grandma, no I wouldn't do that," Estes said.

Estes says West had an argument with her granddaughter's cousin, but that cousin didn't live in the home, so she just can't pinpoint why her home was targeted.

Estes says she, along with her granddaughter, will be going to the court hearings.