Man Allegedly Sets Fire To Apartment, Threatens Self-Harm With Machete

A resident of an apartment complex in the 1400 block of Contra Costa Boulevard allegedly set fire to his apartment before running into the street with a machete and cutting himself with the weapon before Pleasant Hill police brought him down with non-lethal ordnance Tuesday.

The bizarre scene first came to light with reports of smoke from an apartment complex at 1460 Contra Costa Boulevard – with firefighters arriving to find one unit burning upon their arrival. Neighbors, reportedly hearing an “explosion,” called for assistance at 8:57 p.m.

While firefighters contended with a blaze that would ultimately cause heavy damage to the apartment of origin and displace several other residents from adjacent units, police were notified of a man armed with a machete observed limping away from the general area of the fire scene.

Police closed in as the man reportedly used the weapon to injure himself while officers brought up non-lethal ordinance, eventually deploying a taser and beanbag rounds in an attempt to make the man stop his self-harm.

The suspect, Pleasant Hill resident Marlon Perry, 58, was eventually taken into custody at Taylor and Contra Costa Boulevard and taken to the hospital for treatment of his wounds. The exact nature of his injuries was not provided.