COLUMBUS, Ind. – A Bartholomew County 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 around 9:30 p.m., the Columbus Police Department (CPD) and Columbus Fire Department (CFD) were called to a house in the 1300 block of 10th Street for a structure fire. When CPD officers arrived, they found flames coming from the home's window and a truck also on fire.
Using a fire extinguisher, officers began dousing the truck with water, and when firefighters arrived, they quickly put out both blazes.
Officers and firefighters smelled gasoline and suspected the fire was intentionally set. No one was in the residence.
CPD detectives and CFD inspectors were summoned. 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 p.m. Multiple first responders also contained that blaze.
The Department of Homeland Security State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, CPD, CFD, and the 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 authorities followed up and searched for the alleged arsonist, the suspect called into the dispatch center at about 5:30 a.m. on Friday, September 11. They located her at a downtown restaurant and took her into custody.
Ashley Perez, 35, of Columbus, was arrested for two preliminary charges of arson (level 4 felonies).
Fire inspectors initially estimate the damage to the home on 10th Street at $20,000 and to the house on Jonesville Road at $125,000. No one was injured.
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