photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

A Lawrence Police Department patrol vehicle is pictured June 28, 2022.

Lawrence police officers briefly served as firefighters Friday night after a man allegedly broke into an apartment and barricaded himself inside before starting the apartment on fire.

Lawrence police responded around 5:30 p.m. on Friday to an apartment complex just south of Sandra Shaw Park in the 900 block of West 2nd Street to a report of a burglary in process, according to a post on social media from the Lawrence Police Department. A man called police to report that he could see someone through the window inside his apartment breaking things.

When police arrived, the alleged burglar initially refused to exit the apartment for some time but eventually exited the rear of the building where police were able to take him into custody, the post said. During the arrest officers noticed flames and smoke from the apartment and began evacuating residents and attempting to subdue the fire with fire extinguishers.

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical crews arrived shortly after and finished extinguishing the fire. No injuries were reported, according to the post.

Police later booked Trong Do Turner, 27, into the Douglas County jail on suspicion of aggravated arson and burglary. He is being held on a $20,000 cash or surety bond. His address is listed in the booking log as the Faith Hope homeless camp in Kansas City, Missouri.

Turner is already on bond in another Douglas County case where he is alleged to have damaged multiple vehicles at the Lawrence Community Shelter on Dec. 31, 2023. He is charged with four misdemeanor counts of criminal damage in connection with that incident, according to court records. Turner was ordered by the court not to return to the Lawrence Community Shelter while that case is still pending. He is next scheduled to appear in court on that case on March 13.