Homeless California Man Charged With Attempted Murder, Alleged To Have Set Fire To Another Homeless Man's Shelter

A homeless California man is facing attempted murder charges for allegedly setting fire another homeless man's shelter and trying to record the incident.

The alleged incident occurred at 1:30 a.m. Sept. 12 when Glendale Police say Richard Smallets, 32, set fire to the cardboard shelter where another homeless man was sleeping. The unidentified victim awoke and escaped the burning cardboard. He attempted to put the fire out with bottles of water before the Glendale Fire Department arrived.

No major injuries were reported.

Glendale Police said earlier this week they identified Smallets from surveillance footage captured by a nearby business nearby. Smallets is then seen taking out his phone to record the fire as it intensified. Investigators arrested him Tuesday.

Smallets was first charged with arson on Sept. 13 before the Los Angeles District Attorney added an attempted murder charge. He pled not guilty at his first court appearance on Sept. 16 and had another pre-trial hearing on Tuesday according to Los Angeles' CW-affiliate, KTLA. Smallets remains in police custody and is being held on $1 million bail.