Man charged with setting fire to bar he'd been kicked out of

SALT LAKE CITY — A Cottonwood Heights man was charged Wednesday with setting fire to a bar he'd been kicked out of the week before.

Cleon Jones, who turns 41 on Thursday, was charged with aggravated arson, a first-degree felony.

On April 23, the manager of Tony's Bar, 3165 S. 1300 East, returned to the business about 2:30 a.m. to retrieve an iPod he'd left there when he closed the bar an hour before. He noticed the roof was on fire and extinguished it with a hose.

The manager and firefighters located a wallet belonging to Jones in the parking lot of the bar, according to charges filed in 3rd District Court. The manager told investigators he recognized Jones because Jones had been involved in a fight at the bar a week before and had been kicked out.

The manager also said he saw a white Nissan Maxima circling the block after the fire was extinguished. Jones "had been known to drive a white Maxima," the charges state.

Salt Lake fire investigators concluded that the fire on the roof had been intentionally set. Fire officials also found a receipt in Jones' wallet for cigarettes and a cigarette lighter that had been purchased nearby minutes before the fire was spotted, the charges state.

— Julian Reyes

Twitter: @_JulianReyes_