Man charged with burning truck full of donated clothing

LYNN – A judge ordered $10,000 cash bail for a man police said admitted to setting fire to a truck full of clothing donated to the Salvation Army after the organization turned him away.”(The defendant) stated he was mad and that is why he lit the trailer with the clothing on fire,” Saugus Police Officer James Donovan wrote in a report. “(He) admitted it was a bad idea.”Richard Griffin, 49, of 50 Grove St., Salem, was arrested and charged with arson Sunday.He was arraigned on the charge Monday in Lynn District Court where a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.Firefighters responded to the rear of the Salvation Army on Route 1 on the report of a car fire at 10:54 a.m. Sunday. Firefighters found the box of a 42-foot tractor-trailer fully engulfed in flames, according to the Saugus Police Log. Saugus Fire Chief Don McQuaid said Monday morning that the Salvation Army used the truck to store donated clothing, and firefighters had to call in an excavator to remove all the individual bags of clothing from the truck.Firefighters then doused each bag to ensure the materials were not smoldering, McQuaid said.He said that firefighters were able to contain the flames to the truck, and nobody was injured in the incident.Police reported that officers recovered a video from Bob’s Discount Furniture showing a man later identified as Griffin lighting the fire.Police later interviewed Griffin where he admitted that he was the person in the video, according to court documents. He told officers that he had gone to the Salvation Army to attend church, but been turned away. He allegedly burned the trailer in response.Assistant District Attorney Emily Mello requested Griffin be held on $25,000 cash bail. Judge James LaMothe ordered $10,000 cash bail and scheduled Griffin to return to court Jan. 2. A defense attorney appointed to argue bail declined to comment, saying the case would be sent to the public defender’s office.