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Harrison Jones, of Rockford, Michigan, was arrested for six counts of attempted homicide, arson, and related charges after allegedly setting fire to a Bensalem Township house in the early hours of Monday, Feb. 10, according to Bensalem police.
Flames swallowed the two-story home on the 5200 block of Merganser Way around 5:22 a.m., leaving it in ruins. Six adults made a desperate escape—some leaping from the second floor—and were rushed to the hospital with injuries, authorities said. Two dogs did not survive.
Investigators quickly determined the fire was no accident. Nearby surveillance video captured a black sedan stopping near the home at 5:01 a.m., police said. A person exited the vehicle, walked toward the residence, and 15 minutes later, sprinted back to the waiting car. As the vehicle sped away, smoke began rising from the backyard. Within 30 seconds, a massive explosion engulfed the home.
With only a grainy image of the suspect's car, detectives tracked it using township cameras and Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR). The vehicle, a 2021 black Volkswagen Passat, was registered to Brian Jones of Rockford, Michigan—the father of Harrison Jones, police said.
Investigators learned that a 21-year-old resident of the home had been talking to a Michigan woman online and planned to meet her in person. The woman’s ex-boyfriend? Harrison Jones—who lived at the same address as the registered owner of the suspect’s car.
Bensalem detectives contacted the Kent County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan, leading to a search of Jones’s residence. Deputies seized his vehicle, lock-picking tools, a cell phone, and a computer—and noticed he had fresh burns on his arm, police said.
An arrest warrant was approved by the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, and Jones was taken into custody in Michigan. He is awaiting extradition back to Pennsylvania.
Police credited ALPR technology and multi-agency cooperation for catching Jones, who allegedly traveled over 700 miles and more than 11 hours to carry out the attack.
"This was a case of relentless, determined detective work turning a grainy surveillance image into an arrest," police said.
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