Providence Forge men arrested in Charles City arson case
A Providence Forge man already jailed on grand larceny in New Kent County is now charged with setting two of three recent building fires in Charles City County. A second Providence Forge man also faces charges in the fire incidents, and there could be more arrests.
Brandon Lee Able, 21, of 2221 Landing Road, and Justin Webster Mills, 22, of 5640 South Garden Road, face three counts each of arson, burglary, and conspiracy to commit arson.
Two sets of charges stem from a Nov. 15 incident along Cypress Bank Road where what was first described as a boat shed but now termed a cabin burned to the ground and there was an attempt to burn down a nearby house. The attempt failed because the fire didn’t catch, Charles City Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Tyler said.
The third set of charges relate to a few days later overnight on Nov. 19-20 when the suspects allegedly returned to finish off the house. The charred ruins were discovered the next day by a contractor sent to work on the house.
Coincidently, Able is charged with grand larceny in connection with a Nov. 19 theft of a 14-foot boat and outboard motor from an address on Tsena Road in New Kent. Also taken were marine equipment and hand tools.
Able was arrested on Nov. 23 after New Kent deputies raided his address and recovered some of the stolen items. Charles City investigators arrested the suspect that night. The boat, meanwhile, had been found the day after the theft. Tyler said an attempt had been made to sink the craft.
No arrests have been made in connection with the first fire set on Nov. 5 that destroyed two unoccupied house trailers and a nearby shed. But during Able’s Dec. 3 appearance in Charles City Circuit Court for a bond appeal, Tyler revealed that the Nov. 5 incident could have served as inspiration for the defendant.
Answering Judge Thomas B. Hoover’s question as to a motive in the case, Tyler said, “[Able] told a fire investigator he saw the other two burning and that got him excited about fire.”
Tyler also told the court that in one of the structures involved, a man had slept inside the night before fire broke out.
Under questioning from Hoover, Able admitted to having mental issues, adding he dropped out of school in the ninth grade. He also told the judge he has not filed a tax return in the past three years and has earned less than $2,000 over the past two years. His attorney, Judy August, said he lives with his parents.
Hoover denied Able’s bond request, ruling the defendant’s release would create “an unreasonable danger to the public” based on Abel’s prior criminal record and the facts of the case.
Mills, meanwhile, appeared Nov. 30 in Charles City General District Court where bond was set at $15,000. He has since been released, but while being held in a cell at the courthouse, he allegedly caused damage resulting in a misdemeanor destruction of property charge.
Both Mills and Able are due back in court on Feb. 16 for preliminary hearings.
Earlier, Capt. Jayson Crawley estimated total damages combined for the fires at close to $200,000. He also said at one scene investigators recovered a gasoline container that could be linked to the incidents.
“I anticipate there may be a few more arrests,” he said.