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ORLEANS PARISH- A man wanted in connection with a July grocery store fire in the French Quarter of New Orleans has been arrested in the case.

Thomas Patterson, 31, was booked into the Orleans Parish Prison on Sept. 23 on one count of Aggravated Arson and several other charges from another agency.

Around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 6, the New Orleans Fire Department responded to a call for a fire inside of the Rouses grocery store located in the 700 block of Royal Street. The fire was contained to a shelf of paper towels. Another customer quickly extinguished the fire with a jug of water.

Despite the store being occupied by staff and several customers at the time of the fire, there were no injuries reported.

Following an assessment of the scene, including obtaining video evidence, deputies determined the fire was intentionally set and began trying to identify a person of interest. During the investigation, it was determined that the New Orleans Police Department was also trying to identify the same individual for additional crimes in the area.

With help from the public, the SFM and NOPD were able to confirm Patterson as the suspect in several cases.

On Sept. 23, Patterson was located by NOPD officers and taken into custody.

The SFM would like to thank NOPD for their partnership in closing these cases.