By james art 
BATON ROUGE – Investigators have arrested a man who reported his SUV was stolen before it was set on fire in a BREC parking lot.
The Baton Rouge Fire Department is investigating a vehicle fire that occurred in a BREC parking lot on Greenwell Street in the early morning hours of December 27th. The vehicle was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived and was destroyed.
Robert Cotton owned the vehicle and reported it stolen while out of town.
Arrest documents show security camera footage from the area showing a masked man in the parking lot looking at a similar SUV before discovering Cotton’s. The man got into Cotton’s vehicle and drove off before the vehicle was later found burned.
Investigators believe Cotton and the man had an agreement for the man to “steal” and burn his vehicle.
On Monday, Cotton was arrested for arson with intent to defraud.