Friends and neighbors said the Paul Jackson accused of torching two neighborhood churches does not fit what they know of him.
“He’s a hell of a good guy,” said his roommate, Matt Leising, standing in the yard of the house the two and Leising’s brother rented on Cook Street, across the street from the charred church in Denver.
Jackson, 23, remained in the Denver City Jail under a $50,000 bond after he was arrested in his yard Wednesday morning, accused of the double arson.
The first church fire, at Rocky Mountain Miracle Center at 1939 South Monroe St., broke out in a detached shed behind the church and the church library at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The shed and part of a nearby wooden picket fence were consumed. Firefighters said it appeared someone broke out a ground-level window in the church library, poured in gasoline and set it afire, consuming chairs stacked near the window, carpet around the chairs and a portion of the ceiling.
Two hours later, less than three blocks away, the Church in Denver, went up in flames, heavily damaging the interior and roof.
Kari Hebble was out on a morning jog when she spotted Jackson walking a short distance from the church carrying a gas can and thought it was odd, until she saw the flames and smoke at the church.
A New Yorker, she ran back to Jackson and asked if he had anything to do with it, she said.
Jackson told her he did not.
She said, “Well what are you doing with a gas can? He said, ‘My car needs gas.’ I said, ‘Where’s your car?’ and he said, ‘It’s over at my friend’s house.’
“I said, ‘Well, let’s go back and look at the fire,’ and he did. At that point I thought, ‘Oh my god, what’s wrong with this kid?'”
She said Jackson did not seem to be intoxicated, but quiet and “in his own little world.”
At one point on the walk back, he asked her to slow down because she was walking too fast.
“I thought if he went ballistic, I could always out-run him,” said the physically fit 44-year-old of the chubby 23-year-old.
Leising said he had last seen his mild-mannered roommate the night before, and nothing seemed unusual. Leising was startled awake by the sound of sirens and police yelling at Jackson as they took him into custody in the yard.
Leising was guarded in how much he would say about his roommate, since he wasn’t sure if Jackson had an attorney yet.
Jackson had lived with the brothers a few months. He worked out of the home as a freelance computer game designer.
Public records showed he had previously lived in Lafayette until March, moving to Colorado two years earlier from Tacoma, Wash. He has no previous criminal record.
A neighbor, Tommy Jackson, who is no relation to Paul, said all three young men at the home were friendly, polite and helpful to neighbors.
“You just never know what’s going on with people,” he said. “But if you told me any of those boys would cause trouble, I would tell you that you have the wrong boys.”
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
