Boston woman set charity clothing bin on fire while waiting for a ride at Westborough police station, authorities say

Westborough police arrested a Boston woman who allegedly set a clothing donation box on fire inside their police station Sunday night.

Police saw the active fire in the lobby of the station on West Main Street shortly before 8:30 p.m., according to a release. The fire activated the building sprinkler system in the lobby.

Westborough firefighters responded to the scene and found heavy smoke, but confirmed the fire had been extinguished, the release noted.

Prior to the fire, police said an officer had taken a woman to the station so she could wait in the lobby. The car she had been a passenger in had been towed following a crash, so she was waiting for another ride, they said.

Police reviewed surveillance footage after the fire and said the woman, identified as Theresa Abichaker of West Roxbury, intentionally ignited the clothing donation box and its contents.

Police deployed a search with multiple agencies, a police K9 unit, and a drone. Officers found and arrested Arbichaker without incident, charging her with burning a public building (three counts), attempting to burn a public building (three counts), vandalizing property, and fire negligence.

She was held on $25,000 bail and set to be arraigned Monday in Westborough District Court.

Want to leave a comment?

Create an Account Or sign in to your account

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile

To comment, please verify your email address

Conversation

This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com