A Merrillville man got eight years Tuesday for a wild night that included setting multiple houses on fire, threatening to kill people and throwing a boulder at a police car.
Aaron Woods, 31, signed a plea deal Feb. 6 admitting to arson, a Level 4 felony. It was the maximum sentence under the terms. Judge Samuel Cappas said Woods would be eligible in his last two years to enroll in Lake County’s Community Transition Court, which helped ease inmates out of prison.
Cappas noted Woods had a long way to go. He oversaw Lake County’s drug court, where he said success rates were about 35%. Many there spoke the same words, before they struggled and relapsed.Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Dafoe was assigned. Defense lawyer Matt LaTulip defended Woods. Merrillville Police were called at 3 a.m. April 8, 2023 to a house on Grand Boulevard for a report of a “possibly intoxicated” man running around in his underwear and setting things on fire, according to an affidavit.The homeowner told officers Woods — who was his son’s friend — was staying at his house after a breakup until he could get “back on his feet”.
He and his son noticed water under the bathroom door, they saw a shirt on fire inside. The room was “torn up” with the ceiling bathroom fan torn down, debris everywhere, a hole in the wall, and a light bulb broke off a fixture.Woods allegedly shed clothes in front of the house and set them on fire.The man said Woods threw a knife at him, then started burning bushes in their yard.
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