Charges: Man set house on fire during weekend standoff in St. Paul

A St. Paul man has been charged following a weekend standoff in the city’s Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood.

Police were called to Hope Street North near East Seventh Street Saturday afternoon for a domestic disturbance. There, a woman said the father of her children had been visiting the kids but was being aggressive and threatening, so she wanted him to leave. She later added that he’d pushed and threatened her.

RELATED: St. Paul police arrest man they say tried to set house on fire during standoff Saturday

Officers tried talking with the man but he locked the door and refused to come out. After the woman unlocked the door from outside, the man yelled that he wasn’t leaving and started waving a large butcher knife, according to a criminal complaint.

Police and the woman went back outside and set up a perimeter, and officers then started smelling natural gas. The complaint says police called the fire department to shut off the gas and then noticed smoke coming from an upper attic vent of the house.

The complaint says, eventually, that smoke increased and flames soon became visible near the attic.

SWAT was called and tried to enter the home but the door was barricaded. Eventually, officers found a way inside, “distracted” the man with less-lethal weapons and arrested him.

The complaint adds that firefighters were able to extinguish the flames but the attic had extensive damage from the fire, heat and smoke. Crews also found a paint can near where the fire started and noticed that the man had opened all the burners on the gas stove.

The man, 32-year-old Adam Xiong Heu, is charged with first-degree arson and domestic assault in connection to the incident.

The complaint notes Heu has a couple of prior violations of domestic abuse no contact orders, as well as theft and drug convictions.

His first court appearance is set for Tuesday morning.