Birmingham police spokesman Lt Sean Edwards said in a statement yesterday that 18-year-old Thomas Sims was arrested and charged with capital murder in Gene Dacus's death.
Police said Dacus and the suspect had some type of encounter Wednesday, when witnesses reported a fire in a backyard and saw the suspect running down an alley with a red gas jug.
Dacus was found severely burned lying on the ground in the backyard and pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect was captured nearby.