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Arrest made after Charlotte man's Corvette set on fire

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An arrest has been made one day after surveillance footage caught someone setting a 1992 Corvette on fire in west Charlotte.

The owner of the sports car, Seth Headley, wonders if he was targeted.

[IMAGES: 1992 Corvette set on fire]

“Seeing that this one was my pride and joy, and my dream car since I was a kid, I felt really upset,” Headley said.

The video shows the alleged arsonist, Jackson Brooks, initially lighting the car on fire from the side. He then left the scene before returning and setting the front of the Corvette on fire.

Police announced on Thursday that they had identified Brooks as the suspect in the video and arrested him.

“This was a piece of art,” Headley said.

But the piece of art is now unrecognizable.

“You read about this stuff on the news and see it happening to other people but when you see it happening to you, you are like, ‘How and why?’” he said.

Headley told Channel 9 that neither he nor his partner had ever said a word to Brooks.

In the video, the suspect appears to be wearing a bulletproof vest when he set the car on fire.

“Charlotte is a pretty city,” Headley said. “This is unacceptable. We don't need to be setting fire to things.”

After damaging the car, Headley said the suspect tried to burn his gay pride flag but was spooked in the process and didn't fully torch it.

There was an “Equality” sticker on the back of the Corvette and, with the other evidence, Headley thinks he was targeted.

“It is 2018,” he said. “We all should be treating each other civilly and respectfully.”

Police said there was about $10,000 in damage done.

A local LGBT group had been offering $500 for information that led to an arrest.

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