Bennett

ELKINS – A Randolph County man faces an arson charge after allegedly attempting to burn down a residence on Harrison Avenue.

Dylan Joseph Bennett, 25, is charged with first-degree arson, a felony. He is currently being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail. No bond had been set as of press time.

According to the criminal complaint filed by Patrolman P.S. Marsh with the Elkins City Police Department, on Aug. 1, at approximately 12:30 a.m., Sgt. K.S. Shiflett of the Elkins City Police Department was dispatched to a residence on Harrison Avenue in regard to an attempted arson. The caller said Bennett had “tried to set their house on fire.”

Upon arriving on the scene, Shiflett informed Randolph 911 that a small fire had been extinguished and the Elkins Fire Department was not needed, the complaint states. Shiflett took photos of the damage done to the building and collected statements from two alleged victims. Shiflett informed Randolph 911 that the suspect had left prior to his arrival and that he would begin looking for him.

Marsh writes in the complaint that Shiflett assigned him to investigate the incident. In the alleged victims’ written statements, they claim Bennett was the one who started the fire. Marsh writes that photos of the scene showed burn marks to the building “near the back steps.” Photos also showed clothes and a paint can that the victims claim were used to help start the fire. The victims both stated that Bennett arrived at the residence approximately one hour before the initial 911 call.

According to the complaint, the victims stated that Bennett was “yelling about his ex-girlfriend” being in the residence and threatened to burn the residence down before the alleged victims told him to leave. They stated that Bennett later returned and “attempted to set the residence on fire by lighting items on fire against the wall of the residence.”

Bennett allegedly ran when he saw the two alleged victims watching him light the fire, the complaint states. One of the alleged victims further stated that Bennett “grabbed the water hose” and fled the area. Marsh writes that Bennett was “intending to make it more difficult for the victims to extinguish the fire.”