Phoenix Eviction Meltdown: Tenant Charged After Blaze Guts Apartment

What started as an eviction dispute at a north Phoenix apartment complex ended with a unit burned out, neighbors displaced and a 29-year-old tenant facing serious felony charges, according to newly filed court records.

What investigators say

According to court paperwork reviewed by Arizona's Family, Christopher Everhart is accused of setting three separate fires at the Alta Vista Village Apartments near 39th Avenue and Grand Avenue.

The documents allege the first incident happened on March 4, when Everhart allegedly lit a piece of paper on fire and slid it into a leasing-office drop box. On April 1, he is accused of pouring Fireball whiskey into a laundry-room trash can and igniting it.

The most destructive fire came on Monday, June 8, when authorities say two sofas and two mattresses inside the family’s unit were set ablaze, leaving the apartment a total loss and forcing nearby residents out of their homes.

Eviction pressures in Maricopa County

The arrest is unfolding against a wider backdrop of mounting eviction pressures in Maricopa County, where tenant advocates say tensions between renters and property managers have been climbing. Recent reporting found that eviction filings in the county surged about 21% in four years, with tens of thousands of cases filed in recent years.

Arrest details and possible additional charges

Police say surveillance video from the June 8 blaze shows Everhart, his wife and his mother-in-law leaving the apartment unit just minutes after the fire was reported. According to the court documents, Everhart told officers he was upset about being evicted.

Arizona's Family reports that Everhart now faces three counts of arson of an occupied structure, and investigators may submit additional charges against the two women who were with him during the latest incident.

Legal exposure under Arizona law

Under Arizona law, arson of an occupied structure is a class 2 felony, which applies when someone knowingly causes a fire or explosion that damages an occupied building. See section 13-1704 of the Arizona Revised Statutes.

Arizona sentencing rules set presumptive prison terms for first-time class 2 felonies, with ranges that judges can raise or lower. Those ranges can run from roughly three years on the mitigated end up to more than a decade if aggravating circumstances apply, under section 13-702 of the A.R.S..

The investigation is ongoing, and prosecutors will review the court paperwork before deciding on final charges. Authorities say the facts laid out in the documents form the basis for the current counts, and they note that additional details could emerge as the case moves through the courts.