Gallery arsonist arrested

An arrest has been made in the setting of the fire at the Gallery Furniture warehouse back in May.

A man fired five years ago from Gallery Furniture has been arrested and charged with arson, accused of setting the fire that destroyed the large warehouse adjacent to store’s main location on the North Freeway in May.

Robert Carroll Gillham, 66, is charged with arson, a first-degree felony. He is in Montgomery County Jail on an unrelated charge.

Gallery Furniture’s owner Jim McIngvale said he welcomed the news of the arrest.

“It’s very relieving to everyone at Gallery that there’s been an arrest made,” he said.

According to court documents, Gillham told several people, including his girlfriend, as early as last year that he was angry with McIngvale and wanted to burn the store.

Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and firearms interviewed Gillham’s girlfriend, who told investigators that she loaned Gillham her red Dodge Stratus to go to the warehouse after he promised to use different license plates.

She said he was gone about 45 minutes on the day of the fire and returned to say, “I’m OK, it’s done.”

She said he car smelled like gasoline when she got back in it later that night.

Arson investigators found melted red plastic and traces of gasoline in the northeast corner of the warehouse where the fire originated.

Court documents also show that police spoke to two men who said Gillham offered to pay them to burn the building or help him burn it. Gillham offered one $3,000 or $4,000 to set a fire.

As Hair Balls sardonically notes, that’s a pretty darned strong case. I’m just glad this fool didn’t kill anyone.

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