He nearly burnt down Roseville Galleria 12 years ago and now he's telling his story
ROSEVILLE -- Twelve years ago, a homeless man tried to burn down the Roseville Galleria, and now he is telling his story.
Alexander Pigee says he tried to get help by checking himself into a mental health facility while spiraling out of control and living in abandoned buildings and on the street, lost in a fog. But he says no one took him seriously.
"So I'm like, if you guys don't want to pay attention to me, then imma make you pay attention to me."
On Oct. 21, 2010, 23-year-old Pigee walked into a Gamestop in the mall because it was the only store open. He says his intention after setting the fire was to die.
Pigee said that when he set the fire, he saw a small hole through all the smoke and kept crawling until daylight. He later learned it was the ventilation system.
While crawling through the hole saved him from the fire he set, Pigee says the fire saved his life.
The flames caused $55 million in damage and temporarily forced 44 stores to close. No one was injured.
He says he set the fire at around 10 a.m. because he knew there wouldn't be many people inside.
The now 35-year-old Pigee said this when asked where he thought he would be if he had never set the fire.
"Um, I'm going to be honest, and say I probably wouldn't be alive."
Today, his focus is on discussing how the prison system needs to focus on rehabilitation, not incarceration.
"Prison can be two things; it can be something that puts you on a timeout and allows you to self-reflect and better yourself, or it can make you worse than what you did when you came in."
When he was asked what he would say to his younger self before he walked into that mall, he said, "I would whisper to myself and say.' there's somebody out there that does love you even if it is yourself.'"
Alexander will remain in a halfway house for a few more months before his official release. He says he has started a new job and is happy with his life's new direction.
At the time of his crime, Placer County did not have the Lotus Behavioral Health Crisis Center, where people experiencing a mental health crisis can get the help they need regardless of their insurance situation.