Farmington man charged with arson for incident in western San Juan County

A Farmington man faces a federal arson charge in connection with an incident last month on the Navajo Nation in far-western San Juan County.

Ulrick Bruce Canyon, 40, was charged with arson of a dwelling within the maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States for his alleged involvement in an Aug. 28 incident that took place off Indian Service Route 5081 west of U.S. Highway 491 between Sheep Springs and Newcomb, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico.

The release states that a criminal investigator from the Navajo Nation who responded to the scene of the reported fire encountered Canyon as he was pushing a wheelbarrow full of clothes away from the burning residence. When the investigator questioned Canyon about the fire, he allegedly admitted to spraying lighter fluid around the inside of the residence and igniting it with a match.

Before leaving the residence, Canyon said he gathered his clothes and threw them in the wheelbarrow before allegedly throwing two 20-pound propane bottles into the fire, the release states.

The home’s residents later told the criminal investigator that Canyon had been residing in the house with them but that his behavior had become increasingly erratic and violent, which they attributed to his alleged drinking and drug use. They told the investigator that they had left the residence out of fear and were staying at a Farmington hotel when they were informed their house had been burned.

The case was investigated by the Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations.

Canyon, a member of the Navajo Nation, faces a potential life sentence if convicted.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Ulrick Bruce Canyon charged in connection with Aug. 28 burning of home