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'Having A Bad Day,' Man Tells Police While Staring At Fire He Set: Court

By Erica Demarest | May 26, 2016 5:37am | Updated on May 26, 2016 1:00pm
 Police spotted Colin Weis, 24, lighting a couch on fire near Belmont and Wilton, records show.
Police spotted Colin Weis, 24, lighting a couch on fire near Belmont and Wilton, records show.
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DNAinfo; Chicago Police Department

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — The man accused of torching a couch in a Lakeview alley Tuesday, starting a fire that spread to a fence, told police, "I'm having a bad day," according to a police report.

Officers spotted Colin Weis, 24, lighting a couch on fire in an alley near Belmont and Wilton avenues shortly before 3 a.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest report.

Weis told police, "I have no good explanation for this fire," and later, "I'm having a bad day," the arrest report said.

Weis, of the 3200 block of North Clark Street, is now charged with arson. He appeared in bond court Wednesday wearing a T-shirt that depicted four cats riding a UFO above the words, "I want to believe."

According to prosecutors, the couch fire spread to a nearby fence that's attached to a condominium building. Police found Weis early Tuesday staring at the blaze he's accused of starting.

According to his public defender, Weis has worked as a cook for the last five months. He's a high school graduate. Prosecutors said Weis has no prior criminal background.

Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. on Wednesday ordered Weis held in lieu of $150,000 bail.

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