Peabody Man Charged With Setting Fire To His Apartment

PEABODY, MA — A Peabody man was charged with setting fire to his apartment in a 20-unit building on Main Street after he was recently told he had been evicted.

Teandro Moore, 33, is charged with setting the fire and insurance fraud after police said he purchased a policy upon notification of the eviction. He is accused of setting the fire in a plastic wastebasket in the bathroom and disabling the fire alarm in his apartment.

Investigators said they determined there was no other possible source of the fire other than it being intentionally set.

"Setting fire in a 20-unit apartment building, attempting to disable the fire alarms and then leaving, puts every other resident in harm's way," Peabody Fire Chief Joseph Daly said. "Fortunately, this fire stayed small, but all fires start small and can grow extremely fast."

Moore is charged with one count of attempting to burn a building, one count of malicious destruction of personal property, one count of attempting to disable a fire alarm system and one count of burning personal property to defraud insurance.

Moore was held overnight at Danvers State Police Barracks.

"The team worked quickly and effectively to solve this case," Peabody Police Chief Thomas Griffin said. "Many people may be facing similar difficult situations, but setting a fire is not the answer."

North Shore residents with housing issues are asked to contact North Shore Community Action Programs in Peabody for assistance.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Information for this article was supplied by the Peabody Police and Fire Departments. Patch follows a name removal policy for those listed in its published police reports.