All posts tagged "Arson"

A 60-year-old firefighter accused of setting “a string of arson fires” in northern Iowa has been arrested on 13 counts of arson and one count of reckless use of fire or explosives, authorities said Friday. Kendall Rhoads, of Grundy Center, is accused of setting a series of fires in ditches next to corn fields, as well as “some buildings on abandoned properties,” the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office said in a Friday news release. After setting the fires, he would “respond with the fire department and assist in putting the fires out,” authorities said. Rhoads, who has been with the fire department......

A man who was kicked out of a bar in Mexico returned and set it ablaze, killing 11 people and injuring six others over the weekend, police said. Authorities arrested a suspect Saturday afternoon in the attack at Beer House in San Luis Rio Colorado, less than 300 feet from the U.S. border. He has not been publicly identified. The attacker visited the bar early Saturday morning and within an hour became very drunk, according to the local prosecutor’s office in the state of Sonora. He was removed from the establishment for harassing women, investigators said. The suspect got in his pickup truck, ......

A manhunt was underway on Saturday for a “dangerous” inmate with survivalist skills who recently escaped from a prison in Pennsylvania, police said. Michael Burham, 34, was being held in the Warren County Jail — about 11 miles from the state’s northern border with southwest New York — on arson and burglary charges, and he is also a suspect in a homicide and rape case in Jamestown, New York, according to local authorities. Prison staff discovered he was missing from his cell early Friday morning, Burham allegedly escaped from the recreation yard by“elevating himself” on top of exercise equipmen......

A former police chief in Maryland has received eight life sentences, plus an additional 75 years, for setting a series of fires against his perceived enemies, Law & Crime reported on Wednesday.

"Circuit Court Judge Richard S. Bernhardt on Tuesday ordered serial arsonist David Crawford to serve eight life sentences plus an additional 75 years in state prison for the fires, which were set in multiple counties across the state over the course of nearly a decade, authorities announced," reported Jerry Lambe. "Though no one was killed in any of the fires set by Crawford, many — including young children — were forced to flee their homes in the middle of the night to avoid the flames and lost nearly all of their personal possessions."

"In total, Crawford is accused of intentionally starting 12 fires in six counties that targeted a former City of Laurel official, three former law enforcement officials, including a former City of Laurel Police Chief, two relatives, two of Crawford’s chiropractors, and a resident in his neighborhood," said the report. "'Investigators linked multiple cases following a 2020 fire when they discovered Crawford had previous disagreements with multiple victims,' the release states. 'In January 2021, a search of Crawford’s residence found several pieces of evidence, including a list of targets that were known victims.'"...

A Florida man was arrested after he allegedly set his house on fire and beat one of his five dogs with a wooden plank, Local10 reported.

Antwone Lavar Williams, 43, has been charged with first-degree arson and animal cruelty with intent to injure or kill with a deadly weapon.

After responding to the scene to conduct an investigation on a vehicle fire, detectives say Williams refused to secure the five dogs running loose on his property and became irate. He then smashed a living room window and then started a fire inside the home by igniting a cardboard box with rubbing alcohol....

A serial arsonist has roiled a small Los Angeles community, and authorities are asking for the public’s help identifying the suspect, KTLA reports.

The arsonist torched vehicles, garbage cans, and discarded furniture among other property in the Fairfax District, a community of around 13,000 sandwiched between La Brea and West Hollywood.

The Los Angeles Fire Department is investigating the incidents, which were reported June 7 between 3 and 5:30 a.m., the report said....