17-year-old arrested for west Topeka arsons
Judge orders him to remain detained on Thursday
A Shawnee County District Court judge ordered a 17-year-old youth to remain detained in jail after he was arrested in connection with four aggravated arsons and other charges, all linked to a lengthy series of fires that were set in west Topeka neighborhoods.
Aggravated arson means the building was set on fire while people were inside.
The youth also was arrested in connection with five counts of arson and one count of burglary, a statement issued by Fire Marshal Michael Martin of the Topeka Fire Department said.
Each of the nine counts of arson and aggravated arson is a separate incident, the statement said. Authorities didn’t identify the youth, nor did they identify what fires they believe he started.
At about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, the youth was booked into the Shawnee County Juvenile Department of Corrections.
On Thursday morning, the youth appeared before District Court Judge Joseph Johnson, who handles juvenile criminal cases. Johnson ordered the youth to be detained because he is a danger to himself and to others.
Assistant district attorney Dennis Jones is prosecuting the case, and attorney Don Hoffman represents the youth.
The teen is next scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 22 at a scheduling conference.
Martin said the fire department’s investigations unit, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the State Fire Marshal’s investigation division conducted the probe.
No one was killed in the fires, and one firefighter suffered non-life threatening injuries, Martin said. The firefighter has returned to work, he said.
The fires occurred in homes and detached garages in an area bounded by S.W. 10th Street on the north, S.W. Huntoon on the south, S.W. Garfield on the east and S.W. MacVicar on the west, Martin said. A total of 15 arsons were started from April to this month.
Some neighborhoods had more than one fire-damaged structure, and at least one house had sustained fire damage twice.
The arsons have “been a constant, constant investigation,” Martin said. “We’ve poured resources in there, knocking on doors and talking to people. This (investigation) has not left our desks.”
As of Thursday, the west Topeka arsons continue to be investigated.
From January through October, Topeka has had 50 arsons, Martin said, and of those, 43 percent (21 or 22 cases) have been cleared. That means someone either was arrested in the case or the case was submitted to the Shawnee County District Attorney’s to determine whether to file a criminal case.
Nationally, the clearance rate for arson is 15 to 20 percent, Martin said.
Contact reporter Steve Fry at (785) 295-1206 or @TCJCourtsNCrime on Twitter.