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Crews from the Hagerstown Fire Department responded at approximately 5:15 a.m. on Sept. 8 to the 1000 block of Security Road to investigate a reported car fire.
Firefighters responded to the scene, where they found the fire was already extinguished, though the vehicle suffered significant damage.
According to investigators from the Maryland Fire Marshal, the cause of the fire was determined to be incendiary, with an open flame to combustible material that was inserted into the gas fill inlet.
On Monday, Sept. 30, the fire marshal announced that Willie Robert Thornton, 41, who was the estranged boyfriend of the owner's Mercedes, was identified as the suspect who caused an estimated $5,000 in damage.
Thornton is currently being held and awaiting bond review at the Washington County Detention Center, where he has been charged with second-degree arson, malicious burning, first-degree, and malicious destruction of property.
He faces up to 28 years in prison and upwards of $32,000 in fines if he is convicted.
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