arson

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Huge NYC Arson May Have Been Unusual Revenge

Homeless man allegedly set fire after being booted from sleeping spot

(Newser) - Fire officials believe a homeless man ignited a seven-alarm blaze that ripped through a parking garage at a Brooklyn shopping mall Monday, leaving more than two dozen people injured. Six civilians and 22 of more than 250 responding firefighters suffered non-life-threatening injuries, including smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion, after plumes...

Alleged Arsonist Arrested After Entire Town Evacuated

California police believe suspect set 5 fires

(Newser) - A fast-moving wildfire—believed to have been sparked by arson—tore through trees, burned five homes, and forced evacuation orders for an entire forest town as California sweltered under a heat wave and battled ferocious fires at both ends of the state. The so-called Cranston Fire, which erupted Wednesday in...

Arson That Killed 2 Firefighters Wasn't Salon Owner's First

Thu Hong Nguyen faces up to 30 years in prison

(Newser) - The 2015 deaths of two firefighters were caused by a woman who set fire to her own nail salon, and not for the first time, a judge ruled Monday. Thu Hong Nguyen was found guilty of two counts each of first-degree arson, second-degree murder, and second-degree assault after using flammable...

Surprise Suspects in Arsons: Volunteer Firefighters

They allegedly set fires deliberately in NC in woods, abandoned buildings

(Newser) - They volunteered to fight fires, but authorities say they were also purposely setting fires over a period of almost two years. After a tip led to a yearlong investigation, 10 volunteer firefighters in North Carolina's Robeson County were arrested Tuesday and charged with arson and related crimes, ABC 11...

Cops Thought He Killed His Parents. He Was Dead All Along

Affidavit reveals brutal details of triple murder in Connecticut

(Newser) - For more than four months, 21-year-old Matthew Lindquist was considered a suspect in the murders of his parents, found inside their burned-out home in Griswold, Conn., on Dec. 20. All the time, he was lying dead 1,500 feet away, a third victim of what police describe as a fake...

Roy Moore Accuser's Home Burns Down in Apparent Arson

Sheriff's office says it doesn't appear related to Moore or allegations against him

(Newser) - One of the women to have accused Roy Moore of sexual misconduct saw her home burn down this week in a fire authorities are investigating as arson, AL.com reports. "I am devastated, just devastated," Tina Johnson says. "We have just the clothes on our backs."...

Police Arrest 7 Boys Linked to School Fire That Killed 23

Malaysian police say suspects were teased by students

(Newser) - Malaysian police say they have arrested seven boys suspected of intentionally starting a fire at an Islamic boarding school that killed 23 people because students there had teased them. Kuala Lumpur police chief Amar Singh said Saturday the boys, aged 11 to 18, were rounded up after they were identified...

Amid French Wildfires, 2 Teens Accused of Arson

Authorities say the 16-year-olds set one of the recent fires

(Newser) - Two adolescent boys will go before a judge Friday on suspicion of deliberately starting one of the wildfires that devastated parts of southeastern France and Corsica this week, an official said. The two boys, both aged 16, were stopped Wednesday by police who believed arson was behind the blaze in...

Questions, Rumors After Fire That Killed 4 Young Sisters

Investigators believe November fire was intentionally set

(Newser) - What is known: In the early morning hours of Nov. 21, a fire killed four young sisters in their Flora, Ind., home. What isn't known: the cause of the fire—or whether it was intentionally set. After the fire that killed Keyana Davis, 11; Keyara Phillips, 9; Kerriele McDonald,...

Dying Words of Teen Trapped by Fire Played in Court

'I never thought I'd die this way'

(Newser) - In the last moments of his 14-year life, Joe Phillips called his friend's cellphone, cursing in panic. He was trapped by flames that had gotten out of control during what had been a summer afternoon of mischief inside a vacant New York building. "I'm really stuck, dude,...

Police Make Arrests, Say Atlanta Highway Fire Was Intentional

Homeless man accused of starting blaze under I-85

(Newser) - Two men and one woman have been arrested in connection with a massive fire that could leave traffic in Atlanta snarled for months. Basil Eleby, the man believed to have intentionally started a blaze that caused an overpass on Interstate 85 to collapse, was booked on suspicion of first-degree criminal...

Cops: Man Starts Fire at Store He Thought Was Muslim-Owned

It wasn't

(Newser) - Authorities say a 64-year-old Florida man tried to burn down a convenience store Friday because he thought it was owned by Muslims. It wasn't. The Palm Beach Post reports sheriff's deputies were called to a Met Mart in St. Lucie for reports of a suspicious person. Deputies say...

Lawyer's Pants Catch Fire During Arson Trial

Florida attorney argued that client's car spontaneously combusted

(Newser) - Jurors trying to assess the truthfulness of defense lawyer Stephen Gutierrez's closing arguments in an arson trial Wednesday may have been dismayed to notice that his pants were literally on fire. Witnesses say the lawyer had to flee the Miami courtroom with smoke billowing from his pocket, the Miami ...

Greedy Mom Who Killed Her Kids or Victim of 'Junk Science'?

Intercept examines how fire science advances cast doubt on Angela Garcia's conviction

(Newser) - In May 2016, Angela Garcia did the unthinkable: She pleaded guilty to setting a fire that killed her 2-year-old and 3-year-old daughters, Nijah and Nyeemah, 16 years earlier. Liliana Segura reveals the innards of the Cleveland woman's case for the Intercept , exploring why so many—her lawyer, her family,...

Man Charged in Burning His Home Busted by Pacemaker

Ross Compton's story 'highly improbable' due to his medical conditions: cardiologist

(Newser) - A man charged with arson based partly on data collected from his pacemaker pleaded not guilty Tuesday to setting his Ohio home on fire and insurance fraud charges, the AP reports. Authorities have said gasoline was found on Ross Compton's clothing and that the fire started in multiple places,...

Black Church's 'Vote Trump' Arson Wasn't What It Seemed

Member of Mississippi church that burned a week before the election is arrested

(Newser) - It made national headlines a week before the election: Someone set fire to a black church in Mississippi and painted the words "Vote Trump" on the building. Now authorities think they've got the arsonist, and they say the idea that a Donald Trump supporter did this was a...

Teens Could Get Life in Tenn. Wildfire

'Everything is on the table,' prosecutors say

(Newser) - Everything, including murder charges that could bring a sentence of life in prison, is "on the table" for two teenagers accused of starting a devastating wildfire in Tennessee, prosecutors warn. The pair, whose names and ages have not been publicly released, were charged with aggravated arson earlier this month...

2 Teens Charged in Devastating Tennessee Wildfire

Tips from the public reportedly helped

(Newser) - Authorities on Wednesday charged two juveniles in an East Tennessee wildfire that killed 14 people and destroyed or damaged more than 1,700 buildings in an iconic tourism spot at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains, the AP reports. Officials offered few other specifics about how they think the...

Firefighter Pleads Guilty to Setting Fires So He'd Get Paid

The part-time firefighter only got paid for hours spent fighting fires

(Newser) - A 31-year-old Cherokee man in North Carolina pleaded guilty Monday to setting seven fires in order to get paid for putting them out, the Charlotte Observer reports. Part-time firefighters hired by the Bureau of Indian Affairs only get paid for the hours they spend fighting fires or doing maintenance on...

Man Used Cheetos to Try to Burn Down Ex's House

They actually make decent kindling

(Newser) - A Massachusetts man who tried to use Cheetos to burn his ex-girlfriend's house down with her inside was sentenced to 36 months in jail this week, the Taunton Daily Gazette reports. The victim and her friend called police in March to report 31-year-old Shemroy Williams attempting to set fire...

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