Former Tenn. Firefighter Indicted on Arson Charges

A former volunteer firefighter who was arrested in December 2010 in connection with several incidents of arson in LaFayette, Ga., was indicted Tuesday on eight counts of arson.

The Walker County grand jury indicted Melvin Chase in a series of fires that occurred from 2005 to 2010, LaFayette police Sgt. Stacey Meeks said.

Chase, who was hired as a LaFayette volunteer firefighter in 2005, was arrested after admitting he had started several fires in abandoned buildings across town, Meeks said at the time.

Chase then was charged with one count of arson, and authorities said they would be able to prove he was responsible for more. Police brought enough evidence against Chase to ask the grand jury to indict him on eight counts.

Chase, 34, has hired an Atlanta attorney whose name wasn't immediately available Tuesday afternoon.

Meeks said several property owners couldn't be traced through tax records, which are part of the evidence, and that led to the reduced number of charges.

Some of the homes were left as inheritances, while several others were abandoned and should have been seized by the county, Meeks said.

"It's kind of like a victimless crime," he said.

Copyright 2012 - Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service