Latest Arson Headlines
All the headlines from our Arson Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Former Mich. Mayor Must Stand Trial for Arson, Fraud Charges
Nov 6 2007 // A Michigan judge has ruled that a former Saginaw mayor must stand trial on charges of arson and insurance fraud in the burning of her 1986 Mercedes-Benz. Saginaw County Circuit Judge William Crane ruled that Wilmer Jones...
Tenn.: 5 Building Fires Break Out in 30 Minutes; Arson Suspected
Oct 5 2007 // Fire inspectors were investigating a series of five building fires that erupted in a half hour early Monday in northeastern Tennessee. “Every one of them went up like a tinder box,” said Lieutenant Tom Remine...
Fire Marshal Investigating Texas Justice’s House Fire as Arson
Oct 4 2007 // The Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office said the fire that destroyed the home of Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina this summer was “very suspicious” and is being investigated as arson. The fire...
W.Va. Man Indicted on Arson and Insurance Fraud Charges
Oct 3 2007 // West Virginia enforcement officials formally indicted a Raleigh County man this week on a charge of first degree arson and insurance fraud after allegedly setting fire to his former residence. Officials arrested Andrew B....
N.Y. Arson Ring Leader Faces 10-Year Sentence
Sep 19 2007 // The leader of an arson ring that collected more than $400,000 in fraudulent insurance claims for fires in three New York counties is scheduled to surrender Sept. 18 to serve a 10-year federal prison sentence, according to...
Everett Man Who Faked Hate Crime Gets Three Years for Arson
Sep 4 2007 // A man who admitted torching a friend’s grocery store in Everett, Wash., in a plan by the two to collect insurance and make the fire look like a hate crime has been sentenced to three years in prison. Naveed Khan, 25,...
Iowa Supreme Court Orders New Trial in Murder and Arson Case
Aug 27 2007 // The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday threw out the arson conviction of a man alleged to have set fire to a car containing the body of a murdered Chicago man. Kevin Kawanzel Harris, 27, will get a new trial because he was...
Pa. Man Charged in Fatal Mercer County Hotel Arson
Aug 22 2007 // A man who just finished nearly two years in prison for an Ohio burglary was charged with burglarizing a Pennsylvania hotel and setting a fire that killed a man staying there. Michael Watson, 42, was arraigned Monday, Aug....
Iowa City Woman Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Arson
Aug 20 2007 // An Iowa City, Iowa woman convicted of setting her own apartment on fire will serve up to 10 years in prison. Jayne Eicher, 38, pleaded guilty to second-degree arson Aug. 7. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison with...
Officials Find Evidence of Arson, Theft at Alabama School
Aug 15 2007 // A fire that damaged the office of an elementary school in Fairfield, Ala., was intentionally set, State Fire Marshal Ed Paulk said last week. “There is evidence of a break-in and theft, as well as the presence of an...
Former Mo. Mayor Gets 5 Years in Prison for Arson
Aug 7 2007 // A former mayor of Kirksville, Mo. was sentenced to more than five years in prison for setting fire to a popular hangout for college students that she owned in the northeast Missouri town. Deborah Masten was also ordered to...
Case Dismissed Against Ex-Firefighter Accused of Arson in Ark.
Aug 1 2007 // Prosecutors have dismissed a case against a former Missouri firefighter accused of intentionally starting fires in Benton County, Ark. Deputy Prosecutor Drew Ledbetter said there wasn’t sufficient evidence to proceed...
N.D. Authorities Investigate Arson in Williams County
Jul 25 2007 // Williams County authorities are investigating more suspected arson fires northwest of this city. Twenty acres of grassland and two old buildings burned Friday afternoon, about 20 miles northwest of Williston. Two days...
Two Arrested for Vehicle Arson, Fraud
Jul 20 2007 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that CDI Urban Auto Theft Task Force investigators arrested two suspects on charges of arson of property, falsely reporting a crime and filing fraudulent insurance...
Bench Trial Requested for Ind. Sheriff’s Son in Arson Case
Jul 19 2007 // A Johnson County, Ind. judge will hold a bench trial for Morgan County Sheriff Robert Garner’s 23-year-old son, who faces arson and other charges. Robert Jake Garner faces 19 felony counts, including eight counts of...
Republic Group Donates to Texas Arson Hotline
Jul 17 2007 // The Republic Group, celebrating over 100 years of service in Texas, has donated $1,000 to the Texas Arson Hotline. The Arson Hotline has been responsible for more than two dozen arrests on charges of arson since its...
Oxendine: Arson Unlikely in Ga. Church Fire
Jul 10 2007 // Arson is unlikely in a northwest Georgia church fire that broke out early on July 6 – Georgia’s third church fire in less than two weeks, investigators said. Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John...
W. Va. Church Fire Ruled Arson
Jun 21 2007 // Fire officials have ruled a fire that damaged a Logan County, W. Va., church as arson. There are no suspects at this time in the fire at the Kistler Freewill Baptist Church, Kim O’Brien, spokeswoman for the state...
Ark. Court Reverses Woman’s Arson for Insurance Conviction
Jun 21 2007 // The Arkansas Court of Appeals dismissed a Hot Spring County woman’s arson conviction, ruling that prosecutors did not offer proof other than a disputed confession that she set fire to her home. Barbara Fowler was...
Iowa Woman Charged with Arson, Attempted Murder
Jun 11 2007 // A southwest Iowa woman faces charges of arson, attempted murder and child endangerment in connection with a May 26 fire at her home. Iowa Department of Public Safety officials said Audrey Nicole Gilleland, 24, turned...
