Police Arrest Expelled Liberty Student Accused of Harassment, Arson
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JACKSON, Tenn. — Jackson police have arrested an expelled Liberty student after investigators determined he started a fire and repeatedly threatened school administrators at Liberty High School. Malik Batchelor, 18, was arrested around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday on Daugherty Street by the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Jackson Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit. The task force is comprised of Deputy U.S. Marshals and Investigators from the Jackson Police Department’s Gang Unit and Jackson- Madison County Metro Narcotics Unit. Batchelor was transported to the Madison County Jail and is scheduled to be formally arraigned via video link at 8 a.m. Thursday in Jackson City Court on charges of aggravated arson and three counts of harassment. Around 7 p.m. Jan. 16, the Jackson Fire Department responded to a fire in the boy’s locker room inside Liberty Technology Magnet High School at 3470 Ridgecrest Road Extended. The gymnasium was occupied at the time. One person attempted to fight the fire until the fire department arrived, and he had to be transported to a local hospital for smoke inhalation. Fire officials determined the fire was intentionally set, and they contacted the police department for further investigation. On Jan. 17, a man called Liberty and claimed responsibility for setting the fire. The caller also made threatening comments toward a school administrator. The following day, the man made similar threats to the same administrator. On Jan. 23, the man called Liberty again and threatened a different school administrator. Investigators worked with Liberty school officials and identified Batchelor as the person who set the fire and made the threats. Investigators signed an arrest warrant for Batchelor on Jan. 23 and police had been searching for him since then. According to Liberty, Batchelor had previously been expelled from school for an unrelated matter.
