INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man who was accused of setting an IndyGo bus and bus station on fire in April has been federally indicted.
According to court documents filed earlier this month in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, 45-year-old Demarcus McCloud was charged with one count of arson of property receiving federal funds and one count of arson of vehicle or property receiving federal funds.
McCloud was preliminarily charged with arson after he reportedly caught an IndyGo Red Line bus and bus station on fire on April 24. At the time, eyewitnesses reported a passenger, later identified as McCloud, started the fire.
At around 7:10 a.m. on April 24, the Indianapolis Fire Department, along with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were called to an IndyGo Red Line bus station on reports of a fire. When officials arrived, they found that the front half of a bus was fully involved in fire.
The bus, according to court documents, was considered a complete loss and the bus station also sustained fire damage. Officials estimate that the bus sustained around $2.1 million in damages and the stop sustained around $25,000 in damages.
Witnesses told first responders at the time that they had seen a potential suspect who was seen fleeing westbound from the bus to the bathroom of a nearby McDonald’s location. When IMPD officers located the suspect, later identified as McCloud, he was reportedly holding two butane lighters in his hand. Officers also said that they could smell what they believed to be gasoline coming from McCloud.
During the investigation, officials obtained video footage from the bus during the reported incident. At around 6:48 a.m., McCloud got on a Red Line bus at the Julia Carson Transit Center and was carrying a jug that was more than half full of a yellowish color liquid. Investigators later determined the liquid was an “ignitable liquid, most likely suspected gasoline.”
McCloud was reportedly sitting in the back of the bus when he removed a pack of cigarettes and the two lighters from his pocket. The documents said that McCloud then covered his head with a blanket as he smoked a cigarette on the bus.
At around 7:05 a.m., McCloud reportedly threw the cigarette butt on the floor of the bus and used a lighter to ignite a white piece of paper. The documents said that he then extinguished the fire and looked around the bus.
McCloud then moved closer to one of the doors of the bus. The documents said that McCloud then pretended to drink the liquid from the jug that he brought with him. As the bus approached the stop located at N. Meridian St. and 38th St., McCloud reportedly took the cap off the jug and poured the liquid on the floor of the bus.
After this, McCloud approached the bus door and reportedly used one of the lighters to ignite a piece of paper. The documents said McCloud threw the burning piece of paper on the floor where the liquid was, which spread throughout the bus.
After the fire was ignited, McCloud reportedly ran toward the McDonald’s location. After he was apprehended by IMPD, McCloud was taken to a local hospital for possible injuries. A person who was on the bus during the incident was also taken to a local hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
The documents also allege that McCloud reportedly set a trash can on fire at the IndyGo Red Line bus station on Virginia Ave. and New Jersey St. on April 20. Officials said that he walked to the depot, stuck his hands in the trash cans to ignite the materials on fire, watched the fire inside of the trash can for nearly a minute and then walked away.
Court officials state that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating the case. If convicted of the charges alleged in the indictment, McCloud faces up to 40 years in prison.
