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NATCHEZ — A Gulfport man has been arrested on an arson charge after he allegedly started a car fire outside of a Natchez apartment complex.

Natchez Fire Chief Robert Arrington said an arson arrest last week was the result of a collaborative effort between two agencies.

When Natchez Police Chief Joseph Daughtry and Arrington both took the helm of their departments in December 2020, Arrington said they committed to working together to solve arson crimes.

Arrington said he appointed an investigator within Natchez Fire Department to work collaboratively with Natchez police offers to investigate suspicious fires. This resulted in the arrest of 33-year-old Latrevis Clay last Wednesday.

Arrington said Clay set fire to a vehicle outside of a Natchez apartment complex in September and is now in custody awaiting trial.

The vehicle was destroyed but there were no other damages outside of the vehicle and no injuries, Arrington said.

“We’ve investigated several potential arson cases in the past couple of years,” Arrington said, adding right now there are at least two open investigations of potential arson involving burned vehicles and structures but no injuries, he said. These are all separate incidents, he said.

“I want everyone to know we take these things seriously,” Arrington said. “The fact that someone is intentionally causing a fire to harm another is enough to take action. I want to give a huge shoutout to the Natchez Police Department for helping us to crack down on these cases and eliminate some of these problems. We want the public to rest assured we’re doing everything we can to keep them safe.”