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Woman Conspiring To Throw Molotov Cocktail Through Maryland Window Sentenced: Prosecutors Woman Conspiring To Throw Molotov Cocktail Through Maryland Window Sentenced: Prosecutors
Shannon Marie Williams Sentenced For Attempted Murder A 44-year-old woman implicated in a fire-bombing in Howard County more than two years ago has been sentenced to decades in prison, the state's attorney's office announced. Shannon Marie Williams has been sentenced to 115 years in prison, with all but 50 years suspended, for her role in an arson incident that was reported in April 2022. At approximately 3 a.m. on April 5, 2022, prosecutors say that Williams conspired with two others to kill a person by throwing a molotov cocktail into the window of an apartment at the Bluffs of Hawthorn in the 10000 block of Hickory Ridge Circle in Columbia.…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Man Living In Back Of Maryland Business Intentionally Set Blaze In Apartment: Fire Marshal Man Living In Back Of Maryland Business Intentionally Set Blaze In Apartment: Fire Marshal
Man Living In Back Of Maryland Business Intentionally Set Blaze In Apartment: Fire Marshal A man living in the back apartment of a commercial building in Northern Maryland is facing multiple counts of arson for allegedly intentionally setting a blaze that caused thousands in damages, the fire marshal announced. Julian Cookerly, 32, was arrested on Tuesday following a months-long investigation into a questionable fire that had multiple points of origin and was sparked in September last year in Kent County. First responders from the Church Hill Volunteer Fire Department were called in the afternoon of Sept. 27, 2023 to Church Alley in Chestertown, where there was a reported fire. …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
‘Mailbox Mix-Up:’ $30K Offered For Clues In Decades-Old Howard County Arson Case That Killed 2 ‘Mailbox Mix-Up:’ $30K Offered For Clues In Decades-Old Howard County Arson Case That Killed 2
‘Mailbox Mix-Up:’ $30K Offered For Clues In Decades-Old Howard County Arson Case That Killed 2 It’s been exactly 43 years since two people remembered as pillars of the Howard County community were killed by an arsonist yet to be identified and charged in a mystifying cold case. Joe Selby, the manager of Enchanted Forest, the former fairytale-themed amusement park on Route 40 in Ellicott City, and his wife, Betty, shared the last name as another large family that lived in the same county, according to police. After a brawl occurred at a local bar about five years earlier, detectives believe someone tried to retaliate by starting the fire that claimed their lives at 12102 Frederic…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Anti-Government Extremist From MD Admits To Torching Supreme Court Vehicles, Self In DC Anti-Government Extremist From MD Admits To Torching Supreme Court Vehicles, Self In DC
Anti-Government Extremist From MD Admits To Torching Supreme Court Vehicles, Self In DC An extremist from Maryland who claims to be the leader of a militia has admitted to pouring gasoline on Supreme Court vehicles and accidentally lighting himself on fire in Northeast DC, federal authorities announced on Wednesday. Hagerstown native Cody Tarner, who has a history of encounters with law enforcement and has expressed anti-government rhetoric, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to arson in connection to an act of rage that went wrong for him, officials said on Jan. 10. According to court documents, on July 15, 2020, Tarner drove onto US Supreme Court property on First Street NE and parke…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Firebug With Fitting Name Arrested For Torching Rented Bedroom: Maryland Fire Marshal Firebug With Fitting Name Arrested For Torching Rented Bedroom: Maryland Fire Marshal
Firebug With Fitting Name Arrested For Torching Rented Bedroom: Maryland Fire Marshal Wendy Hope Firebaugh wrapped up 2023 in a fiery way and is spending the beginning of 2024 behind bars after setting an intentional fire inside a home she was renting in Maryland. The 64-year-old woman has been arrested on multiple counts of arson following an investigation into a fire that broke out inside a St. Mary's County home while two others were inside the residence, according to the state Fire Marshal. Officials say that Firebaugh was arrested over the weekend after fire investigators determined she intentionally sparked the blaze inside a bedroom of the Mechanicsville home. Shortl…

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by Zak Failla
News
Arsonist, 25, Booted By Brother Torches Trailer In Hagerstown: Cops Arsonist, 25, Booted By Brother Torches Trailer In Hagerstown: Cops
Arsonist, 25, Booted By Brother Torches Trailer In Hagerstown: Cops A Hagerstown man has been charged with setting fire to his brother's utility trailer hauling brush this week, authorities announced. Christian Reyes Torres, 25, had been staying with his brother but was asked to leave on Thursday, Dec. 14, the State Fire Marshal's Office said. Torres later returned and began arguing with family members, and threatened to burn down the house, officials said. It wasn't long before it was discovered that Torres' brother's trailer was found engulfed in flames, along with the brush and tree limbs it had been hauling, officials said. Firefighters extinguished t…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Threatening Firebug Torched Townhouse During Domestic Disturbance In Maryland: Police Threatening Firebug Torched Townhouse During Domestic Disturbance In Maryland: Police
Threatening Firebug Torched Townhouse During Domestic Disturbance In Maryland: Police Byron Alton Bowie nearly made good on his threats to "burn everything down and harm everyone" after he set fire to a Maryland townhouse during a dispute in Frederick, police say. Neighbors said that there was an altercation involving Bowie last week, who was locked out of a townhouse, and he was then spotted on the back deck shouting that he wanted to "burn everything down and harm everyone," before a caller on the line with police saw him using a chair to break a glass door.  The incident was first reported shortly before 9:15 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 24, in the 2200 block of Waller House Cour…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Fair Lawn Native Critically Burned Fighting Baltimore Fire Succumbs To His Injuries Fair Lawn Native Critically Burned Fighting Baltimore Fire Succumbs To His Injuries
Fair Lawn Native Critically Burned Fighting Baltimore Fire Succumbs To His Injuries A Fair Lawn native who was critically injured trying to rescue a brother firefighter in a blaze in Baltimore has tragically made the ultimate sacrifice. Fire Lt. Dillion Rinaldo succumbed to his injuries Tuesday night, Oct. 24, five days after a rowhouse blaze claimed the life of a fellow smoke eater whom he and his colleagues had gone back in to save. "To the Rinaldo family, we are at a loss for words," the Fair Lawn Fire Department wrote in a social media post. "Your son Dillon will never be forgotten," the post reads. "He had the biggest heart and would literally help anyone in need. Al…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Firebug Arrested For Costly Arson Spree In Maryland: Officials Firebug Arrested For Costly Arson Spree In Maryland: Officials
Firebug Arrested For Costly Arson Spree In Maryland: Officials Police have identified and arrested a 23-year-old man who was taken into custody in connection to a string of fires that were set in Montgomery County last weekend. Officials say that Gaithersburg resident Fernando J.Herrera-Rivera is facing six counts of arson for setting several fires in his hometown on Sunday, Sept. 17. The long night for first responders began around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, when crews were called to the Holbrook Center in Gaithersburg following a report of two-alarm fires, prompting a heavy presence from the fire department. Update - Holbrook Center, 400blk S …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Series Of 'Suspicious Fires' Under Investigation In Maryland (PHOTOS) Series Of 'Suspicious Fires' Under Investigation In Maryland (PHOTOS)
Series Of 'Suspicious Fires' Under Investigation In Maryland (Photos) A series of suspicious fires are under investigation and an arsonist is reportedly in custody as officials in Montgomery County continue to investigate, officials say.  The long night began around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, when first responders were called to the Holbrook Center in Gaithersburg following a report of two-alarm fires, prompting a heavy presence from the fire department. Update - Holbrook Center, 400blk S Frederick Av; @mcfrs Fire Explosive Investigators indicate the several fires (at 3 separate fires) are suspicious in nature, damage is significant (included 2 differen…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Teen Firebug Torched Vehicle In MD Lot: Fire Marshal Teen Firebug Torched Vehicle In MD Lot: Fire Marshal
Teen Firebug Torched Vehicle In MD Lot: Fire Marshal More than a week after a Toyota was intentionally set on fire in Washington County, authorities announced that a teenage suspect has been taken into custody. Jaden William Kline, 18, of Hagerstown, is facing charges after admitting to intentionally setting a Toyota Land Cruiser on fire in a seeming act of vandalism, the Maryland Fire Marshal announced. It is alleged that shortly before 3 a.m. on Sunday, June 25, members of the Hagerstown Police and Fire departments were called to Land Cruiser Heaven on Frederick Street in Hagerstown, where there was a reported vehicle fire that was threaten…

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by Zak Failla
News
Former Police Chief In Maryland Gets Eight Life Sentences For Targeted Revenge Arson Attacks Former Police Chief In Maryland Gets Eight Life Sentences For Targeted Revenge Arson Attacks
Former Police Chief In Maryland Gets Eight Life Sentences For Targeted Revenge Arson Attacks A judge in Maryland turned up the heat on a former police chief who was convicted of intentionally setting multiple fires as a means of revenge during a near decade-long crime spree. Former Laurel Police Chief David Crawford, of Ellicott City, 71, will likely spend the rest of his days with some of the people he helped lock up after being sentenced to eight life sentences, plus 75 years in prison, for a serial arson case, the Howard County State's Attorney's Office announced on Tuesday, June 27. The State's Attorney's Office noted that "Crawfords actual executable prison sentence is two ye…

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by Zak Failla