COLUMBUS, Ind.–A local woman is in custody for felony arson charges after two fires in Bartholomew County on Thursday, September 10 that resulted in serious property damage.
At about 9:30 pm, the Columbus Police Department (CPD) and Columbus Fire Department (CFD) were called to a home in the 1300 block of 10th Street for a structure fire. When CPD officers arrived, they found a truck on the property on fire and flames coming from a window of the house. Using a fire extinguisher, officers mostly put out the truck fire, but CFD arrived and utilized their equipment to extinguish both fires.
Officers and firefighters smelled gasoline and believed the fire was intentionally set. There was no one in the residence at the time of the fire. CPD detectives and CFD fire inspectors were called to the scene. While collecting evidence and processing the scene, a second structure fire was reported in the 5400 block of South Jonesville Road at about 11:45 pm. Multiple first responders rushed to the scene to contain and extinguish that fire, as well.
Investigators from CPD, CFD, Department of Homeland Security State Fire Marshal’s Office, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, and Bartholomew County Fire Inspector worked together to develop a suspect and believed the two fires were related as the owner of the home on 10th Street had previously owned the property on Jonesville Road.
While investigators followed up and searched for the suspect, she called into the dispatch center at about 5:30 am. She was located at a downtown restaurant and taken into custody.
Ashley Perez, 35 of Columbus, was arrested for two preliminary charges of arson, a level 4 felony.
Fire inspectors initially estimate the fire damage to the home on 10th Street as $20,000 and $125,000 of damage to the home on Jonesville Road. No one was injured.
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