Arson

Arsonist Sets Peoria Beauty School Ablaze

Peoria PD is looking for an arsonist with a grudge against a beauty school.  A fire broke out last night around 11 p.m. in the 11000 block of North 99th Avenue and destroyed the school and several other buildings beside it in the strip mall.

Louis Taylor Is Free After Four Decades In Prison For Burning Down A Hotel

After nearly 42 years in prison, Louis Taylor is adjusting to the world as a free man.  Taylor cried Wednesday morning when talking about his new found liberation and says he took a hike and even ate some fast food to help him readjust to society. "I'm kind of overwhelmed," he says, "but I ... More >>

Tempe Police Say Nimrod, Cody Nimrod, Was Caught Setting Fire to Dumpsters

Police arrested a Nimrod -- specifically, Cody Nimrod -- while he was in the middle of an arson spree in Tempe early Sunday morning.After lighting up five dumpsters, a car, and stuff in an alley around 3 a.m. Sunday, police found Nimrod in the act of setting another fire, according to information pr ... More >>

Construction Worker Dead After Accident at Former Home of "Burning Man" Michael Marin

A construction worker died yesterday morning at the still-ruined former mansion of "Burning Man" Michael Marin, who torched the house at 71 Biltmore Estates Drive in July, 2009.Phoenix police Sergeant Trent Crump tells New Times that a man working for the home's new owner was crushed by a large, rol ... More >>

Michael Marin Probably Took Cyanide, MCSO Says; Joe Arpaio Tells Everyone Where to Buy It

See also: Burning Man: An Attorney Says He Escaped His Blazing Home Using Scuba Gear; Now He's Charged with ArsonSee also: Michael Marin, "Burning Man," May Have Committed Suicide in the CourtroomMichael Marin probably popped a cyanide pill after a jury handed down a guilty verdict against him in hi ... More >>

Michael Marin, "Burning Man," May Have Committed Suicide in the Courtroom *Updated*

Also Read: Michael Marin, "Burning Man," Had Some Sort of "Medical Emergency" After Verdict Read Michael Marin, "Burning Man," Found Guilty of Arson Burning Man: An Attorney Says He Escaped His Blazing Home Using Scuba Gear; Now He's Charged with Arson UPDATE: We've received confirmation tha ... More >>

Michael Marin, "Burning Man," Found Guilty of Arson

UPDATE: Michael Marin has been transported to a hospital. He collapsed shortly after the verdict was read.A jury found "Burning Man" Michael Marin guilty of arson of an occupied structure today for burning down his Biltmore Estates mansion in July 2009. Marin gave his explanation to New Times writer ... More >>

Young Champions to Celebrate New Building in Scottsdale and Company's Recovery From 2009 Arson Fire That Killed Employee

​Young Champions, a Valley-based youth organization that teaches kids karate, cheerleading, and other activites, wants you to know it's back in action following a horrific 2009 arson fire. Tomorrow, (March 31), the company will host a grand-opening celebration for its new Scottsdale office at 1645 ... More >>

Suzanne Izenberg Tried to Burn Down Her Own House Three Times in Less Than Two Years

MCSOSuzanne Izenberg's a bit of a fire bug.​When Suzanne Izenberg was arrested for arson yesterday, the arresting officer suggested to the court that she not be released on bail because she's a drug abuser and there's a good chance she'll try to set something else on fire -- which makes a lot of s ... More >>

Justin Lunsford Gets 23 Years in Prison For Fatally Stabbing Woman Before Setting House on Fire

MCSO Justin Wade Lunsford​A Cave Creek man who stabbed a woman to death before setting her house on fire has been sentenced to 23 years in prison, Maricopa County Superior Court officials announced this afternoon.Justin Wade Lunsford pleaded guilty in to second-degree murder and&n ... More >>

Dead Body Found in Burning Truck at Tonto National Forest

Gila County Sheriff's Office An unidentified dead body was found in this truck after fire officials extinguished a blaze that burned it to a crisp.​When authorities from the U.S. Forest Service and Arizona Department of Public Safety responded to a report of a fire off a Forest Service road ... More >>

Christopher Benitez Found Guilty of Negligent Homicide and Arson in '01 Firefighter's Death

  Christopher Benitez was found guilt of negligent homicide and arson today in the 2001 death of firefighter Bret Tarver.​Christopher Benitez's second chance at trying to prove he wasn't responsible for the 2001 death of a Phoenix firefighter didn't work out well. The  ... More >>

State Farm Tried to Nail Its Customers for Arson, but the Bad Guys Were Firefighters

Arsonist Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison; Still Faces Five Murder Charges

unodc.org Have fun trying to burn down your new place.​Arsonist and alleged penta-murderer William Craig Miller was sentenced today to 16 years in prison in a 2005 arson case, which probably doesn't sound that bad to Miller, since prosecutors will seek the death penalty in his upcoming murd ... More >>

Apartment Fire Blamed on Bed Bugs -- and Suspected Drunk Guy Who Tried to Set Them on Fire

MCSOHarold Kelley had a bit of a bed bug problem.​As the saying goes: "goodnight, sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite." For a Phoenix man, he may have included "or set your apartment on fire" to the end of that bedtime saying because he's blaming bedbugs for a blaze at his Phoenix apartme ... More >>

Joe Watson, Salon Bandit, and Jonathan Antonucci, Karate-Instructor-Turned-Arsonist, Featured on MSNBC's Lockup

Image: MSNBC's LockupJoe Watson, former New Times writer and convicted "Salon Bandit," was one of the inmates featured on a recent episode of MSNBC's Lockup​The "stars" of last Saturday's episode of MSNBC's inmate reality show, Lockup, featured a couple of guys who should be familiar to regular re ... More >>

Jeffrey Otto Sentenced to 10 Years for Young Champions Arson Fire

Jeffrey Otto was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for his role as one of four arsonists involved in last year's fire at the Young Champions of America headquarters in Phoenix. Otto, 20, had been the last of the three surviving arsonists to plead guilty to the crime that ... More >>

Young Champions Arson Nets Final Guilty Plea; Third Karate Instructor Admits to Crime That Killed Friend

  Jeff Otto is the last one of three surviving arsonists to plead guilty in the June 14, 2009 torching of the Young Champions of America headquarters in Phoenix​The third member of a group of karate instructors who burned down the Young Champions of America headquarters last June, ... More >>

Burning Sensei-tion: A Cadre of Karate Instructors Make the Stupidest Decision of Their Lives and Wind Up Dead or Facing Prison Time

Status Of "Burning Man" Michael Marin's Criminal Case? The Flame's on Low

We've been getting an unusual number of calls and e-mails from folks wanting to know the status of the felony arson case against Michael Marin, the fascinating, if troubled, fellow we wrote about last summer in "Burning Man." ​Readers may recall the story: Marin's a mountain climber ... More >>

Burning Man: An Attorney Says He Escaped His Blazing Home Using Scuba Gear; Now He’s Charged with Arson

Arrest Made in '01 Arson Fire That Killed Phoenix Firefighter Bret Tarver

  Bret Tarver A 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of starting the 2001 fire that killed Phoenix firefighter Bret Tarver. Chris Benitez was 15 when he started a fire in a trash mound next to a westside Southwest Supermarket, investigators believe. Tarver was helping to bat ... More >>

Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall Fire Started by 14-year-old, Says Fire Department

  Hellfire and damnation came to a Mesa Kingdom Hall last month in the form of an arsonist who lit up the place. The fire caused $500,000 in damage to the building, a church for Jehovah's Witnesses. As it turns out, this wasn't retribution by a jealous god, nor the devious act of a pe ... More >>

I Set My Friends on Fire and Other Bands You Don’t Want to Hang Out With

Friend in Need

Arsonist buddy was promised cash for capture

Smoke and Mirrors

Arrest of alleged Preserve arsonist brings more questions than answers

Burning Questions

Phoenix Mountains Preserve arrest ignites flurry of speculation

Under Fire

Property owner threatened by arsonist says he won't back down

Arson Exclusive

A new note, the Biltmore fire, the U.S. Attorney General

Strong Shield

Lawmen not entitled to reporter's materials, judge rules

Flashes

From the week of February 22, 2001

Letters

From the week of February 15, 2001

The Waiting Game

It's all quiet on the Preserve front

Letters

From the week of February 8, 2001

The Story of Us

Often, the worst characters possess the best information

Letters

New Times' exclusive interview with the Preserves arsonist generates passionate response

Authenticating the Arsonist

Is this guy for real?

Letters

From the week of January 25, 2001

An Exclusive Interview With the Preserves Arsonist

He is smart. He is professional. He is everything you don't expect.

Burn, Baby, Burn

'Stop urban sprawl!' 'Burn the rich!' 'An acre an hour is obscene!' Is it any wonder some are rooting for the arsonists?

Case Time Line

The Eternal Flame Part 2

Three decades ago, an unsolved murder case and arson fire scarred Lori Romaneck for life. Since 1993, she's been fighting a bureaucratic backdraft to set the record straight.

The Eternal Flame

Lori Romaneck sorts through the ashes of a decades-old murder mystery and bungled investigations that forever changed her life

Case Time Line

Rescue Workers Grilled in Derailment Probe

Investigators check background of firefighter, repeatedly interview thosewho responded to wreck site

BURNING QUESTIONSWHY WOULD ANYONE SET FIRE TO ARIZONA'S SCENIC LANDSCAPE?