Man tried to kill roommates in apartment fire after they didn’t renew lease, police report says

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF/Gray News) - A South Carolina man was arrested after setting an apartment on fire in an attempt to kill his roommates for not renewing their lease, according to a police report.

Officers with the Horry County Police Department arrested 55-year-old Jake Licoski on Sunday. He is being charged with three counts of attempted murder and first-degree arson, among other charges after the fact.

Police responded to an apartment complex in Myrtle Beach around midnight Sunday to assist Horry County Fire Rescue with a structure fire. When officers arrived, they were told the fire may have been started intentionally, according to the police report.

Officers were reportedly approached by multiple firefighters, who alerted police they had been told by two of the victims that the man who started the fire was in a nearby car, the report says. When a firefighter attempted to speak with the man, asking him if he was at the fire, the man started laughing and drove away, according to the report.

After the man drove away, the firefighter reported this to the officer on scene, who then informed the police department to be on the lookout for the vehicle.

The report says the officer then spoke to the victims, who said the man who started the fire and drove away was their roommate, Licoski. The victims told police they believed Licoski started the fire because they did not intend to renew their lease, leaving him with no place to live, according to the report.

The roommates also informed police they had to jump out of their windows in order to get out of the fire; the report says one victim was taken to the hospital.

As the officer was speaking with the victims, the report says other officers were able to find Licoski’s car and attempted to conduct a traffic stop when he tried to run away. Licoski crashed while attempting to run from police, according to the report.

After the crash, Licoski was taken to the hospital, where he gave a statement to police, the report says. He was later taken to J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

Licoski is facing charges for the traffic stop, including failure to stop for blue lights and driving a vehicle with a broken seal, as well as the arson and murder charges, according to jail records.