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.
Woods spoke for several minutes in court, as he grew emotional, apologizing to the victim, police, paramedics and others involved in the case. It was “out of character,” he said. That evening was a “nightmare” and he didn’t remember most of it. He struggled with drug addiction and wanted to face it for his family.
“I don’t want it to control my life anymore,” he said.
Cappas said the woman was lucky to be alive.
“Luckily for (her), she had smoke alarms,” he said, “because, otherwise, this would be a murder case.”
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.
Woods would have to learn to “live the truth of the words you are saying,” Cappas said.
Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Dafoe was assigned. Defense lawyer Matt LaTulip defended Woods.
Woods originally faced seven felonies, including two counts of arson, three counts of intimidation, and one count each of burglary and residential entry, and four misdemeanors.
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 man, later identified as Woods, later gave a fake name and date of birth.
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”.
The man said he woke up after the fire alarm went off and saw clothes on fire in his kitchen, which he extinguished.
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.
They found Woods in the garage setting an air vent on fire. The homeowner told him to leave.
Woods allegedly shed clothes in front of the house and set them on fire.
“I’m going to kill you, I’m going to stab you, (expletive),” Woods allegedly told the man.
The man said Woods threw a knife at him, then started burning bushes in their yard.
As the first Merrillville police officer showed up, Woods threw something he lit on the roof, which the man climbed up a ladder and got. The home’s circuit breaker switch to the kitchen light and well water pump were both shut off.
At some point, Woods also threw a “boulder” at a squad car.
Two houses away, police officers saw smoke from another house. They found Woods’ student ID card and a lighter in the driveway. The woman who lived there said her alarm company called her. She appeared to have chest pains and trouble breathing.
Woods was arrested after he got out of a “small pond” with what appeared to be white paint on his body. After he was handcuffed, he got loose and jumped in the pond again. He was transported to a hospital.
On the way to a hospital, Woods managed to grab scissors off a paramedic.
“I am going to kill you,” he said.
He was handcuffed and couldn’t hurt them.
