Hobbs Woman sets fires
Virginia Cunningham/News-Sun
Nicolette Dobbins allegedly set fire to her trailer house and then went to her mother’s apartment and set another fire inside the kitchen while her son was in the apartment.
Dobbins was arrested July 13 and charged with abuse of a child, a third-degree felony, and arson, a fourth-degree felony.
At around 3:48 a.m., Hobbs Fire Department and Hobbs Police Department responded to a report of a structure fire. When they arrived at the address on Albertson Circle, they saw a single wide mobile home engulfed in flames, according to the report.
Dobbins mother arrived on scene and told police her daughter was the only one who lived in the home and she was unsure if Dobbins was at home when the fire started. The firefighters extinguished the flames and did a search. They did not find anyone in the home, the report stated.
While HFD was still at the home on Albertson Circle, another fire was reported at an apartment complex in the 1600 block of East Marland St.
The fire was located in the apartment of Dobbins’ mother, according to the report.
Dobbins’ son was inside the apartment when Dobbins arrived at her mother’s apartment. Her son said she knocked on the door and he let Dobbins inside because Dobbins is his mother, according to the report.
Dobbins talked with her son and then allegedly started a fire in the apartment, according to the report.
When firefighters arrived at the apartment on East Marland Street, they discovered a large cushion from the sofa and a pillow smoldering. There was damage to the counter and floor in the kitchen near the gas stove. a burnt towel, sofa cushion and other various burnt debris was located outside of the apartment, the report stated.
Dobbins had left the area, according to the report.
Police were told by Dobbins’ mother, her grandson said, after he talked to his mother in the apartment, Dobbins then caught a towel on fire using the gas stove, and this is where the fire originated from, the report stated.
Police officers were able to locate Dobbins on Ninth Street. While placing Dobbins under arrest, the report states Dobbins made a “random and voluntary” statement about being the person who started both fires, according to the report.
