Man sentenced to 6 months in state jail for 2020 arson at Tyler Walmart
Posted/updated on: April 20, 2023 at 4:07 am
TYLER – A Lindale man was sentenced on Monday to six months in state jail for arson after pleading guilty to setting clothes on fire inside a Tyler Walmart. According to an arrest warrant, Tyler police and the Tyler Fire Marshal’s Office were called to the scene at the Walmart on Highway 64 on Dec. 9, 2020 where it was reported a young man had set clothes on fire and left the store. Tiko Porter, 25 of Lindale, was later identified as the person seen in surveillance footage and the warrant said he was seen near the rack of clothes and moments later “smoke and fire can be seen rising up from the clothes and the rack.”
No other people were seen on the footage near the rack of clothes after he left and the fire started, according to the warrant. He originally entered a plea of not true on Aug. 5, 2021 before he changed his plea to guilty on Monday and was sentenced to six months in state jail. Porter was also ordered to pay restitution with an amount to be determined.
