WASHINGTON – A top American University professor was arrested this week after setting a series of fires and breaking into a shopping center.
David Pitts, who chairs the Department of Public Administration and Policy, was charged with burglary and destruction of property.
Montgomery County police officers observed him setting a fire at his Northwest apartment building’s parking garage early Thursday morning. He also lit a newspaper on fire near a Starbucks and started another fire in the woods.
After setting the fires, Pitts broke into the Foxhall Square Shopping Center, which has a pharmacy inside. There was a brief chase on the third floor and Pitts was arrested.
He initially denied setting the fires but then said he was disoriented and broke into the strip mall to get a prescription from his psychiatrist.
The Washington Post reports police found nearly 5,500 prescription pills in his apartment, including 2,300 Cialis pills and other pills for insomnia and pain.
American University says he was put on leave.
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