arsonist

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Revenge-Seeking Arsonist Set Fire to Wrong House: Cops

Christie Louise Jones thought she was at an ex-boyfriend's, police say

(Newser) - A woman who intended to burn down her ex-lover's home failed to confirm the address and ended up setting fire to a stranger's abode, according to police in North Carolina. The result is that the alleged arsonist can't even claim the sweet taste of revenge as she...

Arsonist's Grand Scheme Runs Into a Glitch

Video shows him running away from RV resort in NC with shoes aflame

(Newser) - A suspect broke into a North Carolina business, spread an accelerant, set a fire, and fled with a bag of cash, police said. The criminal paid for it, though: Video shows his shoes on fire as he ran away. The break-in was last week at the Lake Norman RV Resort...

A Brutal House Fire Killed 5. Now, a Photo of the Suspects

Members of a Senegalese family were killed in the Aug. 5 blaze in Denver

(Newser) - There's a $14,000 reward for information on a blaze in Denver earlier this month that killed five Senegalese family members. Now police have released a photo they hope will help them catch the suspects. Per CNN , the image shows three masked individuals wearing dark-colored hoodies on Aug. 5...

Judge Makes Ruling on Accused Wendy's Arsonist

Natalie White might also be Rayshard Brooks' girlfriend

(Newser) - A woman accused of torching the Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was killed will be released—under certain conditions, WSB-TV reports. A judge said Wednesday that Natalie White, 29, can be released on a $10,000 bond if she stays under house arrest and wears an ankle monitor. White was...

Synagogue Workers Saw Broken Bottles. Then, 'Puddles of Oil'

Jewish community in Chicago on edge after attempted arson, vandalism incidents

(Newser) - All Jewish schools, businesses, and synagogues are getting "special attention" from Chicago police this week after an arson attempt and vandalism at a number of synagogues. Rabbi David Wolkenfeld tells the Chicago Tribune someone tried to set fire early Sunday at the Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation in...

Cops: Note Found After Calif. Mosque Arson Cited NZ

'We won't stop praying,' Islamic spokesman in Escondido says

(Newser) - But for one person who wasn't sleeping, a frightening and dangerous incident over the weekend at a California mosque could have turned tragic. Seven people were inside the Islamic Center of Escondido early Sunday when, shortly after 3am, the lone person not snoozing noticed flames and woke the others,...

Cops: Woman Set Fire to Guy's Car, Only It Wasn't Her Ex's

The 19-year-old was caught on surveillance video in Florida

(Newser) - A young woman police have identified through surveillance video as 19-year-old Carmen Chamblee is charged with setting fire to a Honda Civic in Clearwater, Fla., and she says she thought it was her ex-boyfriend's, reports WFTS . It wasn't. Thomas Jennings, the man who owned the vehicle, says he'...

Arson 101: Guy Shows How Not to Light a Fire

Well, that didn't go as planned

(Newser) - Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug, and sometimes you're the guy trying to burn a building down who sets fire to a little more than you intended. Such was the plight of a would-be arsonist intending to burn down a Kentucky barbershop when he accidentally...

Ex-Fire Captain Behind Virginia Arson Spree: Cops

Charles R. Smith III, girlfriend suspected of setting nearly 80 blazes

(Newser) - A former volunteer firefighter captain in Virginia and his girlfriend are behind one of the worst arson sprees in state history, police say. Charles R. Smith III and girlfriend Tonya Bundick were arrested soon after an abandoned residence was torched early yesterday. They have been charged in that fire but...

2 Dead in Murder-Suicide at University of Maryland

Student reportedly first set fire in basement of his off-campus home

(Newser) - Two University of Maryland students are dead and a third was wounded this morning in what police are classifying as a murder-suicide. Just after 1am, one student set a fire in the basement of his off-campus house, police tell NBC News . When his two housemates confronted him, they all went...

Big Find in Case of Arsonist Who Died After Conviction

Canister marked 'sodium cyanide' recovered from Michael Marin's car

(Newser) - Michael Marin, the convicted arsonist who dropped dead minutes after his guilty verdict was read in a Phoenix courtroom, most likely took a homemade cyanide pill, say police. After his dramatic death, a member of Marin's family received a delayed email from the former Wall Street trader saying that,...

Arsonist Drops Dead After Guilty Verdict

Speculation swirls that he killed himself

(Newser) - An Arizona man collapsed in court yesterday, minutes after a jury pronounced him guilty of arson—and many are speculating that he poisoned himself. Courtroom video appears to show defendant Michael Marin swallow something just after the verdict is read, My Fox Phoenix reports. Several minutes pass uneventfully, and then...

Accused LA Arsonist Eyed in Vancouver Fires

Canada rejected Burkhart's claim for refugee status

(Newser) - Cops in Vancouver are wondering whether accused Los Angeles firebug Harry Burkhart hates Canadians as much as he hates Americans . Burkhart and his mother lived in the city before moving to LA, and Canadian police now suspect him of involvement in at least a dozen unsolved property arsons in Vancouver,...

Suspected LA Arsonist Faces Life

Harry Burkhart could serve as many as 341 years ... or more

(Newser) - Suspected arsonist Harry Burkhart reportedly proclaimed "I hate America," when Los Angeles police apprehended him—and it looks like America, or, at least, its prosecutors, aren't too keen on him, either. Burkhart faces 37 felony counts of arson; if convicted on all counts, that could translate into...

Blocked Bathroom Access Sparked NYC Mosque Attack

Frappuccino firebomber confesses

(Newser) - Police say an unemployed truck driver suspected of carrying out a string of firebombing attacks in New York has confessed to the attacks, and told them that he targeted a mosque because he wasn't allowed to use its bathroom. Ray Lazier Lengend, 40, has been charged with five counts...

LA Arson Suspect: I Hate America

State Department tip led cops to angry Harry Burkhart

(Newser) - The 24-year-old German man arrested on suspicion of setting more than 50 houses and building on fire in Los Angeles said "I hate America" after cops pulled him out of his car, LA Weekly reports. Harry Burkhart was apparently furious over his mother's pending deportation, say police, who...

Cops Hunt NYC Firebomber
 Cops Hunt NYC Firebomber 
UPDATED
Jan 3, 2012 5:34 AM CST

Cops Hunt NYC Firebomber

Sketch of frappuccino-drinking hate-crime suspect released

(Newser) - Police in New York City say the suspect in four firebombings apparently hates Muslims and Hindus but loves Starbucks. A sketch of the man suspected of throwing Molotov cocktails at four targets —including a mosque, a home that doubles as a Hindu temple, and a deli—has been released...

Suspect Arrested in LA Arsons
 Suspect Arrested in LA Arsons 
Jan 2, 2012 3:11 PM CST

Suspect Arrested in LA Arsons

'We've got the right guy,' says LAPD chief

(Newser) - The "person of interest" detained earlier today in Los Angeles' string of arsons has been arrested, reports the Los Angeles Times . "I feel very good that we've got the right guy," says LA Police Chief Charlie Beck. He "had the right stuff in his van,...

LA Arson Spree Continues With 12 More Fires

12 more fires break out, police detain person of interest

(Newser) - Another dozen fires broke out over two hours early this morning around Los Angeles, some of them apparently simultaneously , as police investigate 55 such incidents since last week . Police have now detained a "person of interest" in the crimes, believed to be the same white male between 20 and...

Los Angeles Arson Wave Continues New Year's Eve
 More Fires Hit LA on NYE 
Jan 1, 2012 5:03 AM CST

More Fires Hit LA on NYE

Wave of arson now the worst since '92 riots

(Newser) - Hundreds of extra firefighters were deployed in Los Angeles New Year's Eve to fight the city's worst wave of arson since the 1992 riots. Four more cars were set ablaze, apparently at random, and investigators believe the same arsonist or arsonists who started more than 30 fires in...

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