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NEWS
OUACHITA PARISH ARSON ARRESTS
Three teenagers arrested
May 30, 2019
Baton Rouge, La. (May 30, 2019) – Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) investigators arrested two teenagers in connection with a suspected arson on Jim Finley Road in Ouachita Parish. A 15-year-old juvenile was also taken into custody.
On March 21, 2019, LDAF firefighters discovered 14.5 acres of timber and a storage shed consumed by fire. Investigators say 18-year-old Christopher Caleon Beaver of 546 Jim Finley Road, Calhoun, La. and 18-year-old Jose Louis Reeves of 181 Zeigler Road, Calhoun, La. stole fireworks out of the victim’s shed and used the explosive to set fire to the property.
Damage is estimated at $36,000 for the burned timber and shed.
Beaver and Reeves were charged with one count each of simple arson, simple burglary and criminal trespass. Both were arrested and booked into the Ouachita Parish Detention Center. Bond was set at $21,000 for both men.
The juvenile was charged with one count of criminal trespass and released back to his guardian.
If convicted, Beaver and Reeves face a fine and/or jail time.
The Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division assisted in these arrests.