1. CPD arrest man on arson charges

Officers were dispatched Monday at 4:31 p.m. to the 2600 block of Oakland Ridge Road after receiving a call about a disturbance. The officers were told that Dean Paris, 45, was pouring gasoline inside his home and threatening to burn it down following an argument with a woman who lived with him.

Paris began punching and hitting the victim before dumping gas all over the house, according to a Columbia Police Department report. One of Paris’ children was also standing near him while he was dousing the residence. After arresting Paris, officers found that he was carrying a small amount of marijuana and a syringe used to inject narcotics.

He was arrested on charges of first-degree arson, third-degree domestic assault, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, first-degree property damage, possession of controlled substances and use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

2. Hickman student arrested on marijuana charges

School officials advised a safety officer at Hickman High School that a student was running from an assistant principle at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. The officer located the student, Kevin Aaron, 17, near the 200 block of Third Avenue, according to a CPD report.

He also found a backpack that Aaron had thrown away while running from the school, which Aaron confirmed as his and demanded back. Upon inspection, the officer discovered seven individually wrapped bags of marijuana weighing more than 40 grams. Aaron was arrested on charges of distribution of controlled substances near a school and first-degree trespassing.

3. Plant Sciences major charged with marijuana growing operation in closet

Police arrested a man Wednesday morning after receiving a call about a burglary in progress at 1 a.m. in the 1700 block of Louise Circle. When officers arrived at the house, they smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the residence, but the owner, MU sophomore Brian Dreher, denied he had any marijuana.

Dreher admitted to possessing two baggies of hallucinogenic mushrooms, which the officers found in his bedroom, according to a CPD report. The officers noticed a locked closet in the bedroom, which Dreher gave them permission to search. The officers discovered a marijuana growing operation in the closet and arrested Dreher on charges of manufacturing a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance.

4. Two arrested on suspicion of stealing

CPD officers were dispatched Wednesday night at about 8 p.m. to investigate a suspicious vehicle in the area of Grindstone Parkway. When they approached the vehicle, the driver drove into a field and tried to flee the scene. The officers chased the vehicle to Elk Park Drive where it crashed into some evergreen trees. The driver, Jeffrey Skaggs, 26, was unable to flee from the crash because the trees were blocking his door.

Some lumber that had been stolen from a construction site on Grindstone was found in the back of his truck, and Skaggs was arrested on multiple charges, including driving while intoxicated, failure to maintain proof of insurance, driving without a proper license, resisting arrest and stealing. His passenger, 50-year-old David McKenzie, was arrested on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and stealing, third offense.