Local man charged with arson, stealing tow truck

Published 8:58 am Thursday, July 11, 2024

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An Andalusia man is facing charges of arson, criminal mischief and theft of property in two separate cases that occurred last weekend.

Marcus Hall

On Sunday, officers were called to a Fern Street residence in reference to a house fire. The homeowner reported that he and his wife were sleeping when he woke up to check on his son, and saw on a security camera that his back door was on fire.

When officers responded to the scene, the homeowner reviewed his security footage and identified a suspect, Marcus Hall, throwing what appeared to be gasoline on the back door and using a lighter to start the fire.

Officers went to Hall’s home and confronted him, but he denied his involvement.

On Monday, Investigator William Boswell and Investigator Tyler Patterson, asked Hall to come to the department for an interview. Hall agreed, but again denied all involvement.

When shown the security footage, he admitted his involvement. He was charged with first degree arson, a Class A felony, for which he was held on a $150,000 bond.

While reviewing body cam footage of officers’ first contact with Hall, the investigators noticed that Hall mentioned the name of someone whose vehicle had been reported damaged over the weekend.

Further investigation determined that Hall had unlocked the gate at a local business, damaged a vehicle, and stolen a tow truck. He used the tow truck to push a vehicle out of his way, and drove the truck to Kirkpatrick Park, where he abandoned it. The keys were found in the bushes one street over.

Later this week, while still incarcerated on the first charges, Hall was charged with two counts of criminal mischief first, and theft of property first. When these charges were added, his total bond was increased to $190,000.

Sgt. Al McGraw congratulated Investigator Boswell, who only recently moved into investigations, for solving the cases so quickly.