A wanted New York man was arrested this month, more than four years after police said he drove to his ex-girlfriend’s Lancaster County apartment and intentionally lit six fires.
Around 8:45 p.m. April 25, 2021, Manheim Township police were dispatched to a fire at the Kensington Club Apartments.
After fire crews extinguished the blaze, which severely damaged the interior of the two-bedroom apartment, police noticed the front door frame was damaged. Fire officials later determined the apartment’s smoke detectors were taken down before six fires were set inside.
A dog trained to sniff out fire accelerants noted in several places the presence of an ignitable liquid while inside the apartment, according to police.
The day after the fire, the woman who lived there told investigators her ex-boyfriend, Husani A. Laviscount, 38, of Queens, was upset with her following their break-up in March 2021.
The victim said Laviscount had anger issues and tried to control her. He also continually harassed her to give him a key to her apartment, but she did not comply.
Around Easter of that year, the victim had to change her phone number because of constant text messages and calls from Laviscount.
The week before the fire, a neighbor told the victim they saw a man who matched Laviscount’s description smoking a cigarette outside her apartment door.
The victim also said Laviscount sent her three nude images of herself and threatened to post them online, saying, “Now you can go kill yourself.” The victim told police she was unaware Laviscount had ever taken nude pictures of her.
A watch and bracelet given to the victim by Laviscount were also missing from the home, police said.
On May 19, 2021, police issued an arrest warrant for Laviscount.
Investigators then reached out to the New York Police Department and received the most recent address and phone number for Laviscount.
Using cell phone data from T-Mobile, police determined that Laviscount’s phone left his Queens address around 4 p.m. and arrived near the victim’s apartment just before 8 p.m.
The phone then returned to Queens around 6 a.m. the following day.
Police also used surveillance footage from both Pennsylvania and New York, as well as car rental records, to track Laviscount’s movements.
The apartment damaged in the fire was attached to five other occupied structures. Eight people were in the apartment complex when Laviscount intentionally set the fires, police said.
Laviscount, who was arrested in New York and transported to Lancaster County on Dec. 4, is charged with arson, burglary, risking catastrophe, criminal mischief and eight counts of recklessly endangering another person.
As of Tuesday, he is incarcerated in the Lancaster County Prison with his bail denied. A court docket says bail was denied because Laviscount is a “flight risk” who “has been on the run since 2021.”
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 16.