SALEM, Va. – A 30-year-old man is behind bars and getting a mental health evaluation after Salem Police said he set a fire inside a hotel room during a domestic dispute with his mom.
Police said it happened Sunday, February 16 just before noon at the Baymont Inn on Sheraton Drive.
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When officers got on the scene, the woman told them that her son had locked himself in a hotel room and was destroying property.
Police made contact but said Matthew A. Welch refused to open the door and began setting fire to items inside.
Officers eventually got inside and arrested Welch.
He was taken to LewisGale Medical Center to be treated for minor injuries.
Salem Fire and EMS responded to the hotel and put out the fire.
The Fire Marshal estimated $2,000 worth of damage inside the hotel room.
Police charged Welch with arson, damaged property, grand larceny, assault on a law enforcement officer, and providing false information to police.
Welch is being held in the Roanoke County-Salem jail.