Arson

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Tippecanoe County police have arrested a 14-year-old boy in connection with an arson that destroyed four Tippecanoe School Corp. Sheriff Tracy Brown said the county resident was arrested Friday night but he tells the Journal & Courier it's not clear whether he acted alone. Firefighters were called about 2:30 a.m. Friday to Wea Ridge Elementary School and found two buses fully engulfed in flames. The fire spread to others parked nearby.

PLYMOUTH — The renters of a Marathon gas station have been charged with arson and insurance fraud after allegedly setting fire to the property on North Michigan Street. Maranda L. Taylor, 32, and Edward Michael Strauss, 27, both of LaPorte, have been charged in connection with the Class B and C felonies. Plymouth Fire and Police were dispatched to the fire shortly after midnight Feb. 20. The building received extensive damage, and the fire department ruled the fire had been set. An insurance policy for the merchandise inside the building had been bought Feb. 17, and a claim had been filed for the loss, according to a police report.

The historical one-room school building on the property at Eggleston Center, 19101 Adams Road, received smoke and water damage in what investigators are calling arson. An automatic fire alarm brought Clay Fire Territory crews to the scene at 1:50 a.m. Friday. At the scene, fire crews found the wood siding on fire. Firefighters quickly contained the fire to the outside of the building, according to a report from Clay Fire Battalion Chief John Hummell. The building’s attic space also received some fire damage.

Two 17-year-olds and an adult face preliminary charges for felony arson at Burket Alternative School on County Road 700 West. Just after 8 p.m. Wednesday, Burket firefighters quickly put out the fire near a garage attached to a gym at the school, and then they called the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department. Detective and School Resource Office John Hart was viewing video from surveillance cameras outside the school when he recognized one of the teens as a Tippecanoe Valley High School student who lived in Mentone.

Three LaPorte County Jail inmates have been charged with arson in what Sheriff Michael Mollenhauer called a “well-planned-out crime.” The July 20 fire injured seven inmates. According to an Associated Press report from July 22, video surveillance showed wires from a light fixture were used to create a spark and set toilet paper on fire. The paper was used to set ablaze a mattress and blankets, sending thick smoke throughout the cell block. “The camera recording system within the jail was instrumental in assisting our detectives in piecing together the chain of events concerning this well planned out crime,” Mollenhauer said in a news release Thursday.

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - A man blamed for a fire that destroyed a topless coffee shop in Maine has been found guilty of arson. A jury convicted Raymond Bellavance Jr. on Friday after deliberating for four hours. Prosecutors say "anger and jealousy" caused Bellavance to set fire to a coffee shop where his ex-girlfriend worked. The Bangor Daily News ( http://bit.ly/rTZi3L ) reports Deputy District Attorney Alan Kelley told jurors Bellavance was "a volatile man" who was quick to anger because his former girlfriend was having a relationship with the shop's owner.

ELKHART COUNTY — Someone set an outhouse on fire and tried to do the same to another outhouse early Friday morning at Ox Bow Park. "It's sadness knowing that our park was once again struck with arson for the second time," said Ronda DeCaire, superintendent of operations for Elkhart County Parks. DeCaire said Elkhart County Parks is seeking donations to replace a landmark tower targeted by vandals last year. On Tuesday she got a look at another trail of destruction, committed by vandals, early Friday morning.

A tip from the public and police investigation quickly lead to two arrests for Wednesday morning's fire in Edwardsburg that destroyed a storage building owned by O.F. Co. Inc. Now, police have released the names of those suspects. Adam Lee Sheneman, 23, and 20-year-old Conner Lee have been charged with six felony counts including arson, conspiracy to commit arson, breaking and entering and theft. Just after 2 a.m. Wednesday, fire crews began battling flames and heavy smoke.

BENTON HARBOR - A woman has pleaded guilty to arson for a fire at a Benton Harbor high-rise last month that damaged several apartments. 32-year-old Monica Smith told police she started the fire in on the sixth floor of the River Terrace apartments following an argument with a man who lived there. No one was hurt in the fire, but several people had to find another place to stay that night. Smith is facing 2 felonies, one for arson and one for malicious destruction of property.

A 47-year-old Plymouth man was arrested Sunday night at Grace Baptist Church after he told police he hid dynamite in the building. Plymouth Police arrested Larry Konkle on several charges, including false reporting, intimidation, attempted arson and attempted criminal mischief. Police were called to the church at 5:42 p.m. on a report of a man with explosives.