Latest Arson Headlines
All the headlines from our Arson Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Gang Members Charged With Violent Takeover of New York Fire Mitigation Industry
Jul 5 2022 // FBI, Homeland Security and New York police officials have charged nine defendants including gang members with a violent racketeering and extortion conspiracy in attempting to take over an entire industry designed to help...
Three Teens Arrested in Fire That Burned 3 Historic Homes in Georgia
Jun 14 2022 // Police charged three boys with arson in fires that destroyed three historic homes in an Atlanta suburb over the weekend. Two 14-year-olds and one 15-year-old were arrested Wednesday at their homes in Clayton County,...
Arson Probe After 14 Homes Being Built in Arizona Destroyed
May 20 2022 // Authorities in the Tucson suburb of Marana, Arizona, are investigating whether a fire that destroyed 14 homes under construction homes was arson. Marana police officials said the fire started last week. By the time crews...
Photos Do Lie: Carolina Authorities Charge Two With Insurance Fraud for Fake Fires
Apr 25 2022 // North Carolina authorities have charged two men with fraud and theft after they submitted photographs of fires that never occurred. Antonio Collins, 32, of Greensboro, obtained $11,122 from State Farm Insurance after he...
3 Louisiana Black Churches Rebuilding After 2019 Arson
Apr 20 2022 // Three years after an arsonist torched three small Black Baptist churches in rural Louisiana, rebuilding is well under way. Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas is months from reopening, with visible progress at St....
Fire That Destroyed Washington Businesses Ruled Arson
Apr 18 2022 // The Town of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island in Washington said that a fire that burned through a block of businesses last week was intentionally set. City officials said the fire that started early on April 7 originated...
New York Man Wrongly Convicted of Arson Finally Vindicated After 40 Year Fight
Apr 6 2022 // A New York man who spent nearly 40 years trying to clear his name after a jury tainted by antisemitism wrongfully convicted him of arson has finally been vindicated. Lawyers for Barry Jacobson — who were helped in their...
Carolina Volunteer Fire Chief Charged with Inflating Firefighter Numbers
Feb 9 2022 // The chief of a volunteer fire department in North Carolina has been charged with falsifying reports and inflating the number of responding firefighters in order to obtain a better insurance protection rating for his...
Missouri Man Pleads Guilty in Arson, Insurance Fraud Scheme
Feb 2 2022 // A Kansas City-area man has pleaded guilty to an arson and insurance fraud scheme that allegedly destroyed three houses from 2013 to 2019. Wandale J. Fulton, 40, was accused of conspiring with six others to buy houses,...
Jonesboro, Louisiana Fire Chief, Sheriff’s Deputy Arrested for Insurance Fraud
Jan 5 2022 // A Jonesboro, Louisiana fire chief and a Jackson Parish sheriff’s deputy have been arrested for insurance fraud over an alleged fraudulent vehicle crash that involved two Jonesboro Fire Department vehicles. In August...
Arson Fire Forces 140 to Flee Milwaukee Apartment
Dec 29 2021 // Scores of people are wondering when they can return to their Milwaukee apartment building after a fire authorities say was deliberately set forced them to flee. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the fire broke out...
Man Charged with Arson in Fire That Destroyed House, Damaged Three Others
Dec 21 2021 // A Maryland man has been arrested on arson charges stemming from a house fire that injured two firefighters, authorities said. John Edward Cropper, 56, was arrested Friday on charges of first-degree arson, second-degree...
Restaurant Owner, Niece Face Prison for Arson, Insurance Fraud
Dec 16 2021 // A New York restaurant owner and his nephew’s wife are facing up to 25 years to life in prison after being charged with first degree arson. Zef Gjurashaj, of Newburgh, and his nephew’s wife, Marina Gjurashaj, of...
Man Charged With Arson in Austin Synagogue Fire
Nov 16 2021 // An 18-year-old man has been arrested and charged with arson for a fire at an Austin synagogue, officials said. Franklin Barrett Sechriest was held on a $100,000 bond for the Oct. 31 fire at Congregation Beth Israel,...
Suspected Arson Causes $25,000 in Damage to Austin Synagogue
Nov 5 2021 // Austin leaders gathered earlier this week to demonstrate solidarity with the city’s Jewish community after a string of antisemitic incidents including an expected arson to Texas’ oldest synagogue. The nonprofit...
Three Teens Accused of Setting Maine Fire Facing Felony Murder Charge
Oct 28 2021 // Three teenagers accused of starting a fatal apartment building fire in Maine have been charged with felony murder, officials said. Two 13-year-olds and a 14-year-old were charged last month with arson, but those charges...
Suspected Arson Wildfire Forces Evacuations in Northern California
Sep 24 2021 // Thousands of people were under evacuation orders Friday and many others were on notice to be ready to flee as a destructive wildfire raged in a drought-stricken forest in California’s far north. A woman suspected of...
Feds Investigating Suspected Arson Fire at Historic Kansas City Church
Sep 21 2021 // A federal investigation is underway after arson damaged a historic Kansas City, Missouri, church that now serves a congregation predominantly made up of people from the South Sudan. John Ham of the Kansas City office of...
Arson Ruled in Pierce County, Georgia Fire, Suspect Wanted
Sep 16 2021 // Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King announced that Russell Leon Warner, 49, of Fulton County, is wanted in connection with a Pierce County fire that occurred on Sunday, September 12, just after 5:00...
Fire at Missouri Lawyer’s Office Apparently Arson, Police Say
Aug 26 2021 // Police and fire investigators say a fire at a northeast Missouri law firm’s office is being investigated as an arson. The fire was reported early Sunday at the Frick and Cundiff law office in Kirksville. Legal...
