Investigators are pressing additional charges against four people arrested earlier this year for allegedly setting fire to Fairfax County’s urban search and rescue training facility in Lorton.
The county’s Office of the Fire Marshal has charged 26-year-old Ricky Torres of Fairfax, 18-year-old Brice Bartley of Fairfax, 18-year-old Aidan Smith of Clifton and an unnamed 17-year-old with arson-related offenses, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FCFRD) announced today (Thursday).
They are among six people identified by fire investigators and the Fairfax County Police Department as suspects in the June 27 fire at the training facility for Virginia Task Force 1, which consists of approximately 200 specially trained FCFRD personnel and routinely deployed by the federal government to domestic and international disasters.
“Crews arrived and found the facility fully engulfed in flames. No injuries were reported,” the FCFRD said of the blaze. “The fire caused an estimated $1 million to $1.3 million in damage.”
Torres has been charged with burning personal property valued at over $1,000, a class 4 felony that could result in a sentence of two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
Arrested for the new charge on Oct. 5, he was released on his own recognizance after an arraignment a day later and is next scheduled to appear in Fairfax County General District Court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 2, according to online court records.
Bartley was arrested on Oct. 6 and charged with mischievous fire play, a class 1 misdemeanor with a potential punishment of up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. Released on his own recognizance, he is slated to appear in the county’s district court for an adjudicatory hearing on Dec. 7.
Smith was charged with two counts of burning personal property worth over $1,000 — once for the June 27 incident and again for another fire at the urban search and rescue training facility on June 25. He was released on his own recognizance after an Oct. 8 arraignment and will face a preliminary hearing on Dec. 2.
The FCFRD says a 17-year-old has also been charged with mischievous fire play.
All four individuals, plus two other 17-year-olds, were previously arrested and charged on Sept. 3 by the FCPD with trespassing and burglary in connection with the June 27 fire.
According to the fire department, the suspects were identified through an “extensive investigation” that included reviews of surveillance footage captured at the site and community tips provided after the video of the fire was publicly released.
“Fire investigators identified a vehicle connected to the incident and developed additional leads,” the FCFRD said.
Detectives with the police department’s criminal investigations division and federal agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) assisted with the investigation, the FCFRD noted.
