No Appeal for Evansville Man who Tried, Unsuccessfully, to Burn Down Hotel

In May, a 21-year-old man accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to third degree arson. He was sentenced to 2.5—4 years in prison.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, Casper police and firefighters were called to the Quality Inn at roughly 8:15 p.m. on February 5, 2022.

The clerk told police Justice Zerfas had knocked over a bell cart and yelled, "I'm going to torch this place because you're racist."

Zerfas also reportedly yelled that he was going to ensure the clerk was in the building when he burned it down because the clerk deserved to burn in hell.

Zerfas told investigators that he went to the Quality Inn because a woman he knows as "Diamond" was staying there and her boyfriend owed him $260. Court documents say Zerfas told police that he got mad because the hotel clerk would not tell him which room "Diamond" was staying.

The affidavit states Zerfas told police he lit a match from his pocket and held it to the base of the lobby wall.

When he was unsuccessful at igniting the building, Zerfas went to the outside alcove of the building and tried to kick in the back door, then attempted to light a discarded salt bag on fire. He allegedly threw a lit match in the bag and then threw the bag in a trash can against the building.

Zerfas was sentenced in June, but appealed the judge's decision. The U.S. Supreme Court of Wyoming, however, affirms his sentence.