Indiana Conservation Officers, along with the State Fire Marshal arrested a Crawford County man Wednesday evening in conjunction with 15 arson’s in the Leavenworth area over the past week.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says 27-year old Brian Stonecipher of Leavenworth was arrested and booked into the Crawford County Jail on multiple charges including Level 4 Felony Arson, and Criminal Mischief.
Indiana Conservation Officer Dennis Talley received information from concerned citizens, and along with State Fire Marshal Matt Wells, developed Stonecipher as a prime suspect. Multiple agencies have scrambled to respond to fires this week, including 2 within an hour, shortly after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Talley, Wells, and Indiana State Police Trooper Heath Carkuff interviewed and arrested Stonecipher Wednesday evening after linking him to 15 arson’s, including one in March on Hoosier National Forest property, and 2 attempted fires at a vacant church on Beechwood Road near Leavenworth this week.
Stonecipher, a Leavenworth Volunteer Firefighter, and also a FedEx truck driver, admitted to starting several fires while utilizing his FedEx truck, and then responding to assist in extinguishing the fires as a firefighter.
The incident remains under investigation, and additional charges are possible. Anyone with information concerning this investigation is encouraged to contact Indiana Conservation Officers’ Central Dispatch at 812-837-9536 or the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Arson Hotline at 1-800-382-4628.
