Man drives over 700 miles to set fire to home of man talking with his ex-girlfriend: Police
A Michigan man has been arrested and charged with six counts of attempted homicide after driving over 700 miles and allegedly setting fire to the Pennsylvania home of a man who had been communicating with his ex-girlfriend, police said.
The alleged arson took place at around 5:00 a.m. on Feb. 10 in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. Police and fire fighters responded to Merganser Way for a report of a dwelling fire, according to a statement from the Bensalem Police Department on Monday.
"Upon arrival, emergency services located six adult residents who had evacuated from the home, some of whom had to jump out of second-story windows to escape the flames," police said. "Fire engulfed the two-story single-family dwelling, which resulted in a total loss. Two dogs perished in the fire, and the six adults were transported to nearby hospitals with injuries."
Fire and police officials began investigating the cause of the fire and discovered that it appeared to be "intentionally set and incendiary in nature," according to Bensalem police.
"Nearby home surveillance captured a black sedan as it passed the home on Merganser Way and stopped at the Mallard Drive intersection at 5:01 a.m.," police said. "A subject exits the vehicle with an object and walks towards the residence. After approximately 15 minutes, the subject appears to run back to his waiting vehicle and departs the area on Mallard Drive towards Portside Drive. As the suspect vehicle fled the area, smoke could be seen billowing up from the rear yard of the home, and within 30 seconds, a large explosion was observed, and the house became engulfed in flames."
The only lead in the case at the time was a grainy image of a black sedan from a neighbor's surveillance system, police said.
During the investigation, detectives "utilized township intersection cameras to identify and track the vehicle entering and exiting the township," according to Bensalem Police.
"While in Bensalem, the car passed through an intersection with Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) installed. Detectives found that the 2021 black Volkswagen Passat had a Michigan registration," authorities said. "The vehicle came back to Brian Jones of Rockford, Michigan."
An additional search of various ALPRs across the state enabled detectives to track the vehicle traveling toward Bensalem before the fire and back toward Michigan after the fire had been set.“[Detectives] discovered that a 21-year-old male resident had an online relationship with a female who lived in Michigan and was supposed to come to Bensalem to meet in person for the first time this week,” police continued. “The ex-boyfriend of the female from Michigan was identified as Harrison Jones of Rockford, Michigan, who lives at the same address as the owner of the Volkswagen Passat.”
The Kent County Sheriff’s Office subsequently obtained a search warrant for Harrison Jones's residence and seized the 2021 Volkswagen Passat where they found lock-picking devices, a cell phone and computer. Authorities also discovered what appeared to be burns on Jones’ arms when they made contact with him.
Jones was arrested by the Kent County Sheriff’s Department and charged with six counts of attempted criminal homicide, arson and risking catastrophe.
"The Bensalem Township Police Department would like to thank the Kent County Michigan Sherriff’s Department for deploying numerous resources and manpower to identify, interview, and arrest Harrison Jones for these heinous acts," police said. "We would especially like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the Bensalem Township Police Officers, Fire Investigators, and Bensalem Detectives who took a grainy image of a vehicle and turned it into the arrest of a suspect who traveled over 700 miles and 11+ hours each way to commit crimes that nearly cost six people their lives."
The investigation is currently ongoing.
