Anderson fire investigator Todd Jordan, along with his arson dog Vader, search the ruins of a home in Banta for accelerants on Dec. 11, 2002, in the aftermath of a Dec. 12, 2002, fire that destroyed the home.
Daily Journal Archives
News from around Johnson County as reported on Dec. 14 in the pages of the Daily Journal and the Franklin Evening Star from the last 111 years.
On this day in 2002, the main story on the front page of the Daily Journal was about state and local fire investigations working to catch an arsonist following a spate of fires.
From Nov. 29, 2002, to Dec. 14, 2002, six arsons occurred in Johnson County. Four under construction White River Township homes, a Center Grove soccer field concession stand and a Banta home were targeted.
Several area investigators were working together to solve the arsons, including the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, or ATF, in Indianapolis.
The ATF was just lending a hand in the case. Mike Vergon, ATF special agent and fire investigator had worked on numerous arson cases in the previous five years, and was assisting Johnson County investigators in the 2002 series of arsons.
When Vergon arrived on the scene of a fire, he started by making observations before he stepped out of his car by looking at the windows and doorways to see how the fire spread. After the smoke settled and the ashes cooled, he started looking for clues.
The method sounded similar to a storyline from the popular forensics drama “CSI,” the story said.
Later in the story, Vergon described the challenges of prosecuting arson cases. Few cases have solid scientific evidence to prove that the person accused of the crime actually committed it, he said.
“It’s no different than another crime in that you have to marry the evidence with the witness, with the motive, with the means of opportunity,” Vergon said. “With arson, though, some are more difficult because each of those items are there, but they aren’t all linked.”
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Other memorable Johnson County stories from this day
1983
A three-year-old Bargersville girl was recovering after having her pet turtle latch on to her tongue for several minutes.
1973
Sympathetic Johnson County truck drivers joined their fellow drivers in a work stoppage by blocking access to some truck stop pumps.
1965
Franklin Police were investigating the eighth dog poisoning in 10 days.
