Arson

A Louisville man under sealed indictment for allegedly burning down a Danville apartment building he owned is now in custody after more than a year of searching by authorities. Assistant Danville Fire Chief Woody Ball said Michael Lewis Lambert was taken into custody June 11 by Louisville Metro Police after a routine traffic stop. He is being held at the Boyle County Detention Center on a second-degree arson charge. Authorities suspect Lambert was involved with setting a May 11, 2009, fire that gutted his apartment building at 209-211 N. Fourth St. Ball said authorities were told that Lambert’s daughter, the lone tenant, had moved out the day before the fire occurred.

The suspect in a fire at the former Ark of Mercy church will be coming back to Winchester. Simeon T. Mullins, 20, was arrested on a warrant Aug. 25 in Richmond by Kentucky State Police troopers, said KSP Public Affairs Officer Chris Lanham. Mullins is facing third-degree arson charges for the Aug. 16 fire in the basement of the former church on Broadway in downtown Winchester. Local authorities believed that Mullins had left the state, but Winchester Fire-EMS Major Greg Beam said Mullins’ mother lives in Richmond.

Nicholasville police are investigating a possible case of arson on Stephens Drive that occurred around 5:30 a.m. Saturday. According to an NPD news release, the Nicholasville Fire Department responded to 104A Stephens Drive and 109 Stephens Drive in reference to a structure fire and a Mercedes on fire. A car located at 104A was parked in the driveway and on fire when firefighters arrived. According to the news release, the car was a total loss and the residence sustained some damage due to the blaze.

CAMP DICK — The Camp Dick Fire Department called in Kentucky State Police to investigate a fire in Garrard County early this morning.   Firefighters extinguished a 3 a.m. blaze that destroyed the garage of a house on Mount Hebron Road. But, upon searching the site, they found no likely cause of the fire,  Chief Tevis Graham said. Officials have not yet been able to contact the owner of the property. Graham said the owner has been in Florida for about six months, and the house was vacant with the electricity turned off. "We didn’t find nothing in the garage that (started it)

BUCKEYE - Kentucky State Police are still looking for suspects in a possible arson in Garrard County over the weekend. A fire destroyed the trailer of Paul East, 58, 1064 Long Branch Road, hours after he allegedly assaulted Dean Hall at Hall's home Saturday night at 677 Long Branch Road, KSP spokesman Trooper Paul Blanton said. Police arrested East on a charge of first-degree assault after 10 p.m., and Hall was taken to the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center in Lexington, where he was released earlier this week, Blanton said.

Three local fires in less than three weeks have prompted officials to seek the public's help in arson investigations. State police are currently looking for suspects in fires that occurred Saturday in Waynesburg in Lincoln County, Friday in Camp Dick in Garrard County and June 29 in Burgin in Mercer County, arson investigator Pat Alford said. He said the blazes likely are not connected, but residents may have the best tips regarding their causes. “A lot of time, rumors do actually lead to good information because you get to asking questions,” he said.

A Richmond man charged with trying to set fire to the former Ark of Mercy Church of God pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning. Simeon T. Mullins, 20, was originally facing felony third-degree arson charges following the fire this summer. A month ago, the grand jury indicted Mullins for attempted third-degree arson, a misdemeanor, and sent the case back to Clark District Court. Police said Mullins got into an argument with his girlfriend, who lived nearby. During the argument, Mullins allegedly lit some garbage and threw it into the basement of the vacant church.

The Nicholasville Fire Department suspects arson in a fire at a senior-care home last Wednesday, Aug. 31. Firefighters responded to Rose Terrace Lodge at 401 N. 2nd St. after 1 p.m. and found a fire in a residential room. Fire chief Charles Brumfield said his crew limited the fire damage to the one room although there was smoke and water damage throughout the south wing of the building. No injuries were reported. “They had a very quick knock-down and limited the damage of the fire to that one room,” Brumfield said.

A Winchester woman was charged with arson Wednesday afternoon after a fire at a duplex located at 2110 Dover Court. Sondra Jones, 36, of that address, was arrested a short time after the fire and charged with second-degree arson and two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, according to Winchester Police Capt. James Hall. Hall said neighbors saw Jones, who was in the process of being evicted from the apartment, removing items from the building and leaving shortly before the fire started.

A Lexington man will serve 180 days after he entered a plea to attempted arson and attempted receiving stolen property Wednesday afternoon. Clifford Beasley Jr., 37, entered an Alford plea to both charges after he allegedly set fire to a stolen car in February. His co-defendant, Charles Speake, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing May 29 for third-degree arson and receiving stolen property charges as well. In an Alford plea, the defendant does not admit guilt but believes there is enough evidence to convict him. According to court documents, the two were charged for possessing a stolen car from Fayette County and setting it on fire in Clark County on Feb. 5. An off-duty Lexington Police officer saw two cars parked on the side of a road with an “odd light” coming from the back seat of one vehicle.

A Wilmore city truck was stolen and set on fire early Monday morning, the latest in a string of thefts and break-ins that occurred in the city overnight Sunday night, according to Wilmore police chief Bill Craig. The truck was taken from the parking lot of the city's water-treatment plant, which is surrounded by a 12-foot barbed-wired fence, said Wilmore police detective Melanie Welch, who is investigating the incidents. The lock on the gate was forced open. At the time it was stolen, the truck was unlocked and had the keys in the ignition, Craig said.

A woman will serve three years on probation after setting her apartment on fire minutes before she was due to be evicted. Sondra K. Jones, 38, pleaded guilty in February to one count of second-degree arson and two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. She was arrested in August 2011 for allegedly setting her apartment at 2110 Dover Court on fire in what she called a failed suicide attempt. Two other people were in the neighboring apartment at the time, but no one was injured.

The control box for an air compressor may be to blame for the fire that destroyed the offices at Rod Hatfield's used car lot Wednesday morning. Winchester Fire-EMS Maj. Greg Beam said it appeared the fire started in a garage bay used for cleaning autos located behind the offices. There was a vehicle parked in that bay that received heavy damage. Most of the buildings on the property, including the offices, the detail bay and another four-bay garage received heavy fire damage and may have to be demolished, Beam said.

Investigators haven't ruled out arson in a fire that damaged a Winchester home less than seven hours into the new year. Winchester and Clark County firefighters were both called to 21 Kentucky St. Tuesday morning, with city firefighters receiving the first call at 6:43 a.m. No one was in the home at the time, officials said. Smoke was showing when the first firefighters arrived on the scene. Winchester Fire-EMS Maj. Rob Carmichael said the fire itself was contained to the living room, and the rest of the home received smoke and heat damage.

The arson charge against the second suspect in a fatal fire was dismissed Wednesday after detectives testified that there was no evidence linking Brandon Guy with setting the fire. Guy, 25, surrendered to police Nov. 10 after detectives swore out a warrant charging him with first-degree arson in connection with the Oct. 21 fire that killed 50-year-old Kenneth Payton in his home. During Guy's preliminary hearing Wednesday afternoon in Clark District Court, Kentucky State Police Detective Jeremy Hamm testified that there was no direct evidence at this time to implicate Guy in setting the fire.

The arson charge against the second suspect in a fatal fire was dismissed Wednesday after detectives testified that there was no evidence linking Brandon Guy with setting the fire. Guy, 25, surrendered to police Nov. 10 after detectives swore out a warrant charging him with first-degree arson in connection with the Oct. 21 fire that killed 50-year-old Kenneth Payton in his home. During Guy's preliminary hearing Wednesday afternoon in Clark District Court, Kentucky State Police Detective Jeremy Hamm testified that there was no direct evidence at this time to implicate Guy in setting the fire.

The second suspect in a fatal fire made his made his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon. Brandon Guy, 25, of 230 E. Broadway, surrendered to Winchester Police during the weekend. Kentucky State Police swore out a warrant charging Guy with first-degree arson on Oct. 23, two days after the fire at 544 E. Broadway that killed 50-year-old Kenneth Payton Jr. Payton was the boyfriend of Guy's mother, police said. Because Guy is facing a felony charge, the judge entered an automatic not guilty plea Wednesday and scheduled a preliminary hearing for Nov. 21. His $100,000 bond remains unchanged.

After two weeks of searching by police, the second suspect in a fatal fire turned himself in to officers Saturday afternoon. Brandon Guy, 25, was identified as a suspect during a District Court hearing for the other suspect, Aaron Spencer, on Oct. 31. At that time, detectives said they had been searching for Guy since the Oct. 21 fire that killed 50-year-old Kenneth Payton. According to police and jail records, Guy surrendered to Winchester Police Saturday afternoon and was booked on first-degree arson charges.

Police have a first-degree arson warrant waiting for another person for the fatal house fire on East Broadway less than two weeks ago, detectives said Wednesday. The warrant is for Brandon Guy, Kentucky State Police Detective Jeremy Hamm said during a preliminary hearing for the other arson suspect, 23-year-old Aaron W. Spencer of Winchester. “We couldn't find him,”¿Hamm  said of Guy during Spencer's hearing in Clark District Court. “We are actively looking for him.” So far, no one has been charged with the death of Kenneth Payton Jr, 50. During wide-ranging testimony that delved into the series of events on Oct. 21 at Payton's home at 544 E. Broadway, detectives testified that Payton was assaulted prior to the fire that severely damaged the home.