State and federal investigators believe a 45-year-old recently arrested on charges stemming from Aberdeen burnings could be connected to a string of other Harford County fires last year.
The suspect was taken into custody Friday at an Aberdeen home for the set of charges, including trespassing and second-degree malicious burning, in connection with “a series of fires” on June 20, 2023, in the area of 200 S. Post Road in Aberdeen, near the Aberdeen Proving Ground military installation, Maryland’s Office of the State Fire Marshal said in a Saturday news release.
Investigators believe he used a handheld propane torch to burn “woods, trees, and train tracks” in the area, including burning his initials into a tree. An employee at a nearby construction company identified the 45-year-old as trespassing on the property, the office said. Although he has only been charged for the June 20 blazes, authorities suspect the suspect “may be behind” several other fires in that immediate area during May and June 2023, as well as other fires within a wooded area near the 3500 block of Churchville Road in Churchville and on private property in the 800 block of Carsins Run Road in Aberdeen “as recently as last month.”
The suspect was charged in December with a criminal summons, according to court records, though a warrant for his arrest was issued in late February after “several unsuccessful attempts to locate” him, the fire marshal’s office said. Deputy state fire marshals and agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives located him at a residence on the 3500 block of Carsins Run Road, where he was arrested Friday with assistance from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, the state fire agency said. He was released on his recognizance later Friday.
The other fires are still under investigation, and those with information are asked to call 410-386-3050.
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