A reportedly homeless man and a 14-year-old male were arrested Monday night on arson charges in connection with a fire that destroyed a large hay barn on Broadway Street and two other fires they allegedly set.
Lane Anthony Brown, 21, who lists no permanent address, and the juvenile were both arrested on a felony charge of arson, punishable by up to life in prison, and misdemeanor counts of arson and unlawful burning, each punishable by up to one year in jail. Brown was also charged with a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Brown remained in custody on zero bond Tuesday and is set to appear today in Garland County District Court. The juvenile was booked into the Garland County Juvenile Detention Center on zero bond.
The Sentinel-Record follows The Associated Press privacy policies and does not publish the names of juvenile offenders unless they are charged as adults.
The felony arson charges stem from a fire that destroyed a large storage barn at 439 Broadway, belonging to Williams Brothers Feed Store, 401 Broadway, which contained 4,000 bales of hay and trucks, trailers and forklifts, with total damages estimated between $350,000 and $400,000, owner Patti Nickles told Hot Springs police.
"It was a total loss. The equipment was wiped out," Nickles told The Sentinel-Record Tuesday, noting the building was insured but "it's never enough."
She noted the bales of hay were a mixture of Timothy grass, alfalfa and straw, at an average value of $35 a bale. Williams Brothers is the primary supplier for Oaklawn Racing and Gaming, 2705 Central Ave., but Nickles said they had replacement hay "on the road headed this way as we speak. We'll be able to take care of everybody by Friday."
Hot Springs Fire Chief Ed Davis said the fire department received a 911 call about the fire at 6:24 p.m. Monday and arrived to find the interior of the barn "fully involved" and showing from every visible opening of the building.
Firefighters were able to get the fire under control fairly quickly and ensure it wouldn't spread beyond the barn, but it took several hours to get the fire extinguished completely and they had to continue to monitor for hot spots, Davis said Tuesday, noting they had four engines and a truck company that initially responded.
The hay, which was essentially fuel for the fire, was stacked tightly and reached to the ceiling of the structure which, coupled with the fact heat rises, made for a dangerous combination.
Nickles said when she arrived at the scene around 7 p.m., police already had Brown in custody. "(Brown) had been hanging around. He had asked us about work but we didn't have any work for him at that point," she said.
She said the 21-year-old metal barn didn't have electricity and was strictly used for storage of hay and equipment.
"I can't say enough about our local police and fire. They were very professional and consoling at the same time," Nickles said. "They were on it right from the beginning."
Ironically, today is the 28th wedding anniversary for Patti and her husband and co-owner, Brooks Nickles. She said "we are blessed with good friends" and would carry on and were making plans to build a new barn.
According to the affidavit for Brown, shortly after 5:30 p.m. Monday, police and Hot Springs firefighters responded to 156 Ramble St. to a leaf fire and arrived to find several garbage bags full of leaves burning at the edge of the yard. The fire was extinguished and a witness reported seeing two white males near the bags just prior to discovering the fire.
Less than an hour later, after police and firefighters responded to the barn fire, officers on scene were approached by a witness who reported seeing a preteen white male and young adult white male near the barn just before the fire. He said he watched the younger male go into an opening in the barn and then come out less than a minute later.
The witness said both males walked away just before he started seeing smoke and flames coming from the barn.
Patrol officers located Brown and the juvenile in the 400 block of Broadway and detained them. The juvenile's mother was contacted and responded to the scene. The juvenile and Brown both agreed to come in for questioning.
While firefighters were battling the blaze at the barn, another fire truck responded to a report of a trash can on fire at Transportation Depot, located down the street at 100 Broadway Terrace. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire.
Brown was interviewed and reportedly told Detective Jerry Cantrell he and the juvenile were at the barn when he told the juvenile to go into an open bay door to "check if anything was stolen." He said he gave the juvenile his "hoodie" which had his lighter in the pocket before he went inside.
When the juvenile came out, they began walking away and then he saw flames coming out the building, Brown said, claiming he didn't know why the juvenile would have started the fire. He then allegedly admitted he set the fire in the trash can at Transportation Depot just prior to going to the barn.
Brown was arrested at that point and ordered to empty out his pockets. Cantrell noted he had two lighters.
The juvenile was interviewed with his mother present and reportedly stated Brown gave him the lighter and told him to go inside the barn and start a fire. He also allegedly admitted he and Brown started the trash can fire at Transportation Depot and Brown started the leaf fire on Ramble Street.
The affidavit notes damages from the trash fire were estimated at less than $200 and there was no damage to property from the fire on Ramble other than leaves and refuse.
Davis noted a previous barn Williams Brothers had at the same location was destroyed by fire 21 years ago. He said the previous fire was an accident caused by an electrical problem which had prompted the owners not to install electricity in the replacement barn.
Local on 11/29/2017