CEDAR COUNTY, MISSOURI, SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES made quick work following a commercial arson that took place in the rural community of Stockton Wednesday morning.
A small shopping center housing three businesses, all owned by the same man, was burned out early that morning by obviously set fires in the complex. Gasoline had been poured in at least two of them, a cigarette shop, a pizza parlor and a video rental store, following a burglary where merchandise from them had been taken.
The ignition of the gasoline caused two separate explosions that were heard eight blocks away at the sheriff’s offices and bowed out the walls of the steel building. The Stockton fire department was able to affect a quick knockdown and had the fires out within 30 minutes. Investigators noticed a patch of burned grass behind the stores and considered the possibility that the arsonist had set himself on fire and had done the “stop, drop and roll” routine before he fled.
KSPR-TV Springfield had this video report:
Yesterday (Thursday) the sheriff’s office announced the arrest of a woman and her teenage son for the crime. The Springfield News-Leader reports:
Jacob T. Smith, 18, was charged with second-degree burglary, second-degree theft and second-degree arson, online court records showed. He was jailed on $25,000 bond, said Linda Crayne of the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office.
Dina R. Larson, 39, (a.k.a. Dina Bonebrake) was charged with second-degree burglary, second-degree theft and possession of a controlled substance. She was jailed on $100,000 bond, said Crayne.
A third person was in custody but not yet charged, authorities said.
A detective’s probable cause statement used as the basis for the charges says investigators served a search warrant at the family’s home and recovered cigarettes, jewelry and a bank bag that were stolen from the burned strip mall. The detective said Smith and Larson both admitted in separate interviews that they broke into stores at the mall, stole items and set the fire. You can read the entire statement (.pdf format) HERE.
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