Distraught man sets bathrobe ablaze at JW Marriott, police say

A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of arson Saturday after locking himself in a downtown L.A. hotel room, setting fire to a bathrobe and threatening to kill himself, police said.

Officers arrived about 10:30 a.m. at the JW Marriott Los Angeles in the L.A. Live entertainment complex after security officers confronted a man who was not a hotel guest and chased him into a third-floor hotel room.

The man, described by police as distraught, started making “incoherent statements” and setting objects in the room on fire, said Los Angeles Police Sgt. David Lopez. At that point, officers forced their way into the room and detained the man, Lopez said.

Firefighters put out the small fire and took two people to the hospital, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott.

The suspect had consumed “an abnormal amount of pills,” LAPD Officer Gregory Baek said.

-- David Zahniser