HARRISON TWP. — A 36-year-old man has been formally charged for reportedly starting a fire that destroyed a Harrison Twp. apartment complex earlier this month.
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Chaunsay Tinsley was indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury on Tuesday on two counts of aggravated arson, according to Montgomery County Common Pleas Court records.
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The charges are connected to the fire at the Meadows of Catalpa apartment complex on Camargo Drive on Feb. 7.
As previously reported by News Center 7, a female called 911 reporting that her boyfriend sent her pictures of himself setting her clothes on fire.
When deputies arrived on the scene, they saw smoke and flames coming from the complex and ran inside to get residents out.
Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck said deputies knocked on the apartment door where they believe the fire began. Tinsley answered the door and told deputies ‘nothing going on here.’
Firefighters got to the scene and determined that all 24 units connected to the building needed to be evacuated.
Tinsley eventually exited the apartment due to the amount of smoke and was taken into custody.
The Red Cross was called to assist around 24 residents left without a home.
Tinsley is being held on a $250,000 bond in the Montgomery County Jail. He’s scheduled to appear in court next on Thursday.
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