|
Car, person of interest sought in Guilford/Rockingham church arsons
REIDSVILLE, Mar 08, 2013 (News & Record - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Officials have a description of a man and a car they said may be connected to a recent wave of Methodist church arsons in Rockingham and Guilford counties.
The Rockingham County fire marshal is looking for a mid- to late-'80s Honda Accord with flip-up headlights.
The car is green and may have faded paint, which could be primer, and a loud muffler.
It was seen on Gideon Grove Church Road on Dec. 22 at the time Gideon Grove United Methodist Church was set on fire.
It was the first of four Methodist church arsons.
"We received some information (Wednesday) that it was in close proximity at the time of the fire," Fire Marshal Robert Cardwell said.
The marshal's office is also looking for a white man, 18 to 25 years old, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall who weighs 160 to 180 pounds.
"He's a person of interest, but we have no way of (identifying) him as a suspect yet," Cardwell said.
The Gideon Grove church fire was the first in a series of blazes at Rockingham County churches.
The next fire happened Dec. 23 at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church at 3708 Ellisboro Road in Stokesdale.
The third arson was reported Jan. 2 at Bethel United Methodist Church at 8424 Haw River Road in Oak Ridge.
Bethany United Methodist Church is about seven miles from Gideon Grove Church.
A few days later, on Jan. 10, an outbuilding caught fire at St. Timothy's United Methodist Church in Jamestown.
Authorities have not determined whether the Jamestown fire was deliberately set.
The most recent arson was Feb. 13 at Bethany United Methodist Church, which is at 316 Witty Road in Summerfield.
A shed that touches the church was also set on fire.
The fire damaged the eaves of the church and scorched the brick wall, but didn't spread to the sanctuary.
The Charlotte office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the church fires.
Cardwell said the reward is being advertised on electronic signs around the county.
The fire marshal and sheriff's offices ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 349-9683 or 1-800-ATF-FIRE.
Contact Sarah Newell Williamson 373-7076 or follow @snewell on Twitter.
___ (c)2013 the News & Record (Greensboro, N.C.) Visit the News & Record
(Greensboro, N.C.) at www.news-record.com Distributed by MCT Information
Services
[ Back To Technology News's Homepage ]
|
Internet Telephony Magazine
Click here to read latest issue
CUSTOMER 
Cloud Computing Magazine
Click here to read latest issue
M2M Evolution Magazine
Call Center/CRM
Info Tech 
IP Communications 
Mobile 
Green 
Satellite 
Robotics 
