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Police & Fire
Barricaded Man Assaulted Woman With Rock, Started Fire In Southeast DC Home, Police Say Barricaded Man Assaulted Woman With Rock, Started Fire In Southeast DC Home, Police Say
Barricaded Man Assaulted Woman With Rock, Started Fire In Southeast DC Home, Police Say A rock-throwing man who assaulted a woman before barricading himself inside a Southeast DC home attempted to start a fire inside an area home, according to arson investigators. Aaron Johnson, 51, is facing charges following a strange scene that played out Monday early on Monday morning after he struck a woman with a rock and entered a standoff with members of the Metropolitan Police Department. Officers from the agency were called at around 8 a.m. on March 11 to the 2800 block of Q Street SE, where a woman advised them that she had been struck by a rock during an argument with Johnson. The…

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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
Man Set Apartment Fire During Rent Dispute With Property Manager In Southeast DC: Police Man Set Apartment Fire During Rent Dispute With Property Manager In Southeast DC: Police
Man Set Apartment Fire During Rent Dispute With Property Manager In Southeast DC: Police The man who barricaded himself inside a Southeast DC apartment and set it on fire over a rent dispute with a property manager is facing criminal charges, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. District resident Mitchell Cooper, 63, was arrested and charged with arson and threats to do bodily harm following an incident that played out on Monday afternoon, authorities announced. Shortly before 4 p.m. on March 4, first responders were called to the 900 block of 5th Street SE to investigate reports of a fire inside of an apartment. Update Box Alarm 900 block 5th St SE. Fire 3rd fl…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Firefighter Accused Of Intentionally Setting Blazes In Maryland, Officials Say Firefighter Accused Of Intentionally Setting Blazes In Maryland, Officials Say
Firefighter Accused Of Intentionally Setting Blazes In Maryland, Officials Say A woman is being accused of starting, not fighting, fires in Maryland, authorities say. Eldersburg resident Allison Nicole Creutzer, 20 a volunteer Carroll County firefighter with the Reese Volunteer Fire Company has been arrested in connection to a string of fires over the last year in the Eldersburg and Liberty Reservoir area, according to the state's fire marshal. Specifically, Creutzer was charged with intentionally setting fire to grass, brush, and woodland, three counts of second-degree malicious burning, and one misdemeanor count of calling in a false report of a …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Police Searching For Suspect Who Intentionally Set Man On Fire In Northwest DC Intersection Police Searching For Suspect Who Intentionally Set Man On Fire In Northwest DC Intersection
Police Searching For Suspect Who Intentionally Set Man On Fire In Northwest DC Intersection Recognize him?  The Metropolitan Police Department has issued an alert after a suspect lit a man on fire in Northwest DC. Shortly after 3 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 15, police say that a person poured a substance on his victim at the intersection of North Capitol Street and P Street NW, then ignited that liquid before running off. The victim was taken to an area hospital for treatment of undisclosed "serious" injuries. No details about the suspect were provided by investigators, who released a photo of the hooded man still carrying the container that held the liquid. Anyone with informati…

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by Zak Failla
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
Police & Fire
Longtime Vacant Home Torched Intentionally In Maryland: Fire Marshal Longtime Vacant Home Torched Intentionally In Maryland: Fire Marshal
Longtime Vacant Home Torched Intentionally In Maryland: Fire Marshal A firebug burned a vacant home to the ground in what is being investigated as an incendiary blaze in Cecil County, officials say. Shortly before 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning, crews from the Singerly Fire Company in Elkton were called to Red Hill Road, where a passerby reported that a home known to be vacant for years had been set ablaze. It didn't take long for firefighters to get the flames under control, but the damage was done, and the home is considered a total loss, according to the Maryland Fire Marshal. Investigators, using a K9, said that it was determined that the fire was intentiona…

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by Zak Failla
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
News
Murder Suspect Who Torched Southeast DC Home During Standoff With Police Indicted: Feds Murder Suspect Who Torched Southeast DC Home During Standoff With Police Indicted: Feds
Murder Suspect Who Torched Southeast DC Home During Standoff With Police Indicted: Feds The District man who set a home on fire after an hours-long standoff with police in Southeast DC while out on a pretrial release for a different crime has been indicted on murder, arson, and other charges. Sherman Holley, who put Metropolitan Police officers through the paces earlier this year, is facing federal charges in connection to the January murder of 53-year-old James Brooks, Jr. and torching a home while attempting to evade arrest. According to the indictment, on Jan. 15, Holley repeatedly stabbed Brooks in the torso - killing him -while the two were walking through an alleyway nea…

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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
Woman Intentionally Set House Ablaze With Man Inside After Argument In Maryland: Fire Marshal Woman Intentionally Set House Ablaze With Man Inside After Argument In Maryland: Fire Marshal
Woman Intentionally Set House Ablaze With Man Inside After Argument In Maryland: Fire Marshal A Maryland woman who set her house on fire after a fight with a man living there is facing serious charges following an incident in Harford County, authorities announced. While staying with a neighbor in Edgewood, Christina L. Beattie has been accused of setting an intentional blaze on the front porch of her home while someone was inside early on Sunday morning. According to the Maryland State Fire Marshal, around 3 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1, crews were called to the 1100 block of Shady Drive, where there were reports of flames that were spotted on the porch. Deputies from the Harford County …

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by Zak Failla