By Jean Cole
jean@athensnews-courier.com
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An Athens man has been charged with arson after trying to create the ashes he needed to make a jailhouse tattoo, an official said.
Don Edward Ryan, 29, of 17038 Ferry Road was charged Thursday with second-degree arson for allegedly using the battery from a television remote control and staples to try to ignite a few sheets of toilet paper in order to generate the ashes he needed, said Limestone County Sheriff’s Lt. Brad Curnutt.
“He was going to try to start a fire and use the ashes to make tattoo ink,” Curnutt said Thursday. The officer did not know what kind of tat Ryan had in mind.
The alleged incident occurred Wednesday at the Limestone County Jail, where Ryan was already incarcerated on charges of second-degree theft and violating terms of probation on a previous conviction for third-degree burglary, Curnutt said.
Under state law, attempting to set a fire in a detention facility is second-degree arson.
Because Ryan was already jailed on a probation violation he is not eligible to be released on the $5,000 bond set for the felony arson charge, Curnutt said.
