Latest Arson Headlines
All the headlines from our Arson Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Oregon Officials Believe Arson Behind 14 Or More Wildfires
Aug 23 2016 // State authorities and forest officials say at least 14 wildfires that have erupted across central Oregon over the last three weeks are believed to have been intentionally started. Officials did not release details on which...
Alabama Volunteer Firefighter Charged With Arson
Aug 19 2016 // A central Alabama firefighter is charged with setting a fire in an Elmore County community that’s been plagued by a string of suspicious blazes. WSFA-TV reports that 28-year-old Chad Ellis of Deatsville was arrested...
North Dakota Business Owner, Employee Accused of Arson for Insurance
Aug 11 2016 // Authorities have charged the owner of a Watford City, N.D., restaurant and an employee with torching the business to collect insurance money. Owner Anna Marquardt, 37, and employee Lisa Stoll, 28, face felony arson and...
$1M in Pipeline Construction Equipment Damaged in Iowa, Arson Suspected
Aug 3 2016 // Machinery located at three oil pipeline construction sites in central Iowa was found extensively damaged by fire on Aug. 1 in what the company building the pipeline called a shameful act. There’s little doubt the...
Fire that Damaged Historic Georgia Courthouse Believed to be Arson
Jul 29 2016 // A fire that caused heavy damage to the historic courthouse in Macon County, Georgia, is being investigated as a case of arson. WSFA reports that that the Macon County Sheriff’s Office believes the July 9 fire was...
Louisiana Man Gets 10 Years for Arson Fire That Destroyed 3 Homes
Jul 25 2016 // A 33-year-old Raceland, La., man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to arson in a fire that destroyed three homes last summer in Gheens. The Daily Comet reports Treiston Pierron pleaded guilty...
Potato in Tailpipe Leads to Arson Suspect in Connecticut
Jul 15 2016 // Police say a potato stuffed into a vehicle’s tailpipe helped lead them to a 19-year-old Connecticut stripper who’s now charged with setting fire to a business in a dispute over money. Willow Martin, of...
Detroit Crews Fight String of 17 Suspected Arson Fires
Jun 29 2016 // Authorities say the Detroit fire department responded to a string of 17 suspected arson fires that burned over a roughly 12-hour period. Chief of Arson Patrick McNulty tells the Detroit Free Press the first fire was...
Missouri Woman Ordered to Pay $243K in Arson-for-Insurance Scheme
Jun 23 2016 // An Independence, Mo., woman was sentenced to 31/2 years in prison without parole for an arson and insurance fraud scheme. Tina Shonk was also ordered to pay $242,717 in restitution to her victims and $62,364 to the...
Detectives Probe Arson Attempt at Kardashian Boutique in Southern California
Jun 8 2016 // Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives in California are investigating a suspected arson attempt at the West Hollywood DASH clothing boutique owned by the Kardashian sisters. Lt. Edward Ramirez says a witness...
Mississippi Business Owner Sentenced to 5 Years for Arson
Jun 3 2016 // The owner of a construction company in Pascagoula has been sentenced to five years in prison for conspiring to set fire to his business. The Sun Herald reports a judge also fined 53-year-old Michael Eugene Slater and...
Pennsylvania Advises Insurers on Arson, Insurance Fraud Reporting Rules
May 26 2016 // The Pennsylvania Insurance Department recently issued a notice to advise and remind insurers of their obligations under the state’s law in the reporting of suspected arson and insurance fraud. The department also...
New Jersey Diner Owner Charged With Arson, Insurance Fraud
May 16 2016 // Authorities say a New Jersey diner owner has been charged with burning down the restaurant to collect insurance money. The New Jersey Herald reports that Tina Diakos was arrested and charged on May 13 with setting the...
Texas Town Faces Questions After Arson Blamed for Fertilizer Plant Blast
May 13 2016 // One question has lingered in the Central Texas farming town of West since a fertilizer plant caught fire in 2013 and exploded, killing 15 people and damaging at least $100 million in property: What caused the blaze? On May...
Police Make 2 Arrests in Most Recent Kentucky Home Burglary, Fire
May 13 2016 // Kentucky State Police say two people have been charged in connection to a home burglary and arson that occurred in Madison County. Police say 38-year-old John C. Roth of Nicholasville was arrested Tuesday and charged with...
Police Investigate 6th Home Burglary, Arson in Central Kentucky
May 12 2016 // A house north of Richmond has become the sixth home in Central Kentucky that state police think were recently burglarized and then set on fire. Trooper Robert Purdy told news outlets that a Madison County home received a...
Employee Charged in $70M Chicago Furniture Warehouse Fire
May 2 2016 // An employee of a suburban Chicago furniture warehouse is facing federal arson charges for allegedly starting a fire that destroyed the building. Ruben Ochoa Cruz is charged in the April 21 fire that destroyed The RoomPlace...
New Trial Granted for South Dakota Woman in Arson-for-Insurance Case
Apr 22 2016 // A woman convicted of setting fire to a bar and grill she co-owned in the South Dakota town of Herreid to get insurance money has been granted a new trial. A jury in February found 42-year-old Lori Brandner guilty of arson,...
7 Arrested in Georgia Arson, Insurance Fraud Scheme
Feb 4 2016 // Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens announced the arrests of six Colquitt County residents and a Clayton County woman involved in a staged insurance fraud ring. A joint investigation by Hudgens’ Insurance...
Kansas City Woman Pleads Guilty to Arson-for-Insurance Charges
Jan 31 2016 // A Kansas City woman has admitted to helping to burn down one home and plotting to burn another for insurance money. The U.S. attorney’s office says 35-year-old Tina Shonk pleaded guilty to two federal counts. Through...
