Latest Arson News
New NC laws on arson, domestic protections begin Thursday
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Tougher penalties for certain types of arsons and large-scale thefts at stores in North Carolina are among all or portions of 10 new state laws approved by the General Assembly this year that will take effect on Thursday. The enacted legislation creates new...
Indiana judge rejects plea for alleged barn fire accomplice
ELKHART, Ind. (AP) — A judge rejected a plea agreement Monday for a woman accused of helping her boyfriend set fire to several northern Indiana barns, citing her plea deal’s lack of prison time. Sherry Thomas, 33, of Nappanee had reached a plea agreement that includes an...
Mother charged with murder after daughter found dead in fire
EAST POINT, Ga. (AP) — An Atlanta-area woman has been arrested on murder charges after investigators say she killed one of her twin 4-year-old daughters and set fire to her apartment to conceal the death, burning the other twin. Nicole Jackson, 27, was arrested Friday by East Point...
Suspect faces arson, domestic battery charges in Reno fires
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Washoe County sheriff's deputies have arrested a 44-year-old suspect in a pair of arson fires in the Reno area this summer, including one that destroyed a home off the Mount Rose Highway. Matthew Kimmens was being held Sunday at the Washoe County Jail on a dozen...
Man gets 50-year prison sentence for Indiana barn fires
GOSHEN, Ind. (AP) — A man who pleaded guilty to torching several barns last year in a northern Indiana county was sentenced Monday to 50 years in prison followed by decades on probation. An Elkhart County judge sentenced Joseph Hershberger to 96 years, but suspended nearly half of...
Arson suspect arrested in Mississippi capital city fires
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a suspect in connection with seven fires set across Mississippi’s capital city early Tuesday. At least two of the buildings set ablaze in Jackson were churches; one was burned to the ground. Another fire broke out on fences...
Police: 2 arrested in Colorado apartment fire that killed 2
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Police say they have arrested two juveniles on suspicion of first degree murder and first degree arson in connection with an Oct. 31 fire in a suburban Denver apartment building that killed a woman and her 10-year-old daughter. Lakewood police detectives and...
Eco-activist sentenced to community service, no prison time
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced an eco-activist to community service but no extra time in custody, rejecting the government’s call for a yearslong prison term for the Seattle man related to arsons decades ago. Joseph Dibee, 54, was a fugitive for more...
Suburban Denver apartment fire kills 2, juveniles sought
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — A fire in a suburban Denver apartment building that killed a woman and her 10-year-old daughter was intentionally set and two juveniles are being sought, police in Lakewood said Tuesday. Officers have arrest warrants for two boys on charges of first-degree...
California man gets life for murder of teen he met online
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after admitting that he raped and killed a 13-year-old girl he met online, then set her body on fire. Armando Cruz, of Inglewood, accepted an agreement to plead...
