By Angie Thompson
The Tifton Gazette
TIFTON, Ga. — Even though the serial arson investigation that led to the arrests of seven young members of the Irwinville Volunteer Fire Department and its chief began with the Irwin County Sheriff’s Office, the sheriff and his captain expressed shock Tuesday. The thrill of the acts is the only motive determined so far for the intentionally set fires that date back over a year in the county.
“It’s shocking,” Irwin County Sheriff Donnie Youghn said. “I know most of these boys and they are good boys.”
Youghn said Tuesday that up to five arson investigators from Safety Fire Commissioner John W. Oxendine’s office continued to collect evidence and investigate the cases in Irwin County Tuesday. Additional charges could be pending.
Capt. Nelson Paulk, who has been employed by the ICSO for 32 years, said he has known several of the volunteer firefighters arrested since they were born.
“The young boys in this department were all good boys and they were good firefighters,” Paulk said. “They were there every time you called them. They got caught up in the excitement of going to the fires.”
The youngest of the eight arrested so far is 17 and the oldest is 28, Paulk said. He said that there are, including the eight arrested, 12 members of Irwinville’s volunteer fire department. The only woman charged in the case was charged with one count of party to a crime.
“Some of those Irwinville volunteers have been cleared and are as clean as a whistle,” Paulk said.
Other volunteer firefighters from the Holt, Tucker and Waterloo volunteer fire departments in Irwin County will assist the remaining Irwinville volunteers if needed, Paulk said.
Paulk said suspicions that arsonists were active began in the county last summer, even though the earth was parched from months of drought and fires were easily started.
“We were having a lot of fires in woods, brush-type fires,” Paulk said. “Suspicions were up then that somebody might be doing this.
“Fires were easily started then but we were having too many.”
ICSO Investigator Tammy Champion usually handles other criminal cases, such as reports of child abuse, but in another investigator’s absence, she was sent several weeks ago to investigate a suspicious fire at one of the torched vacant houses. She called in state arson investigators who confirmed suspicions by finding evidence of arson in the remains of the house.
Determining whether a fire is arson or not is not as difficult as proving who starts the fires, Paulk said, but investigators believed they had enough to make two arrests Friday.
“It opened up the case and the fire marshall came in Monday and interviewed everyone with the fire department,” Paulk said. “That is where we are today.”
Some of the fires being investigated date back to over a year ago.
Glenn Allen, a spokesman with Oxendine’s office, said Tuesday that the eight arrests and their charges stemmed from investigations of the April 23 and May 2 multiple grass and woodland fires on Crystal Lake Road last year; the Nov. 23 structure fire at a vacant house at Vig Creek and Eisenhower Road last year; and the Feb. 23, 2008 structure fire at the vacant house at 926 Fillmore Road.
When asked if investigators had found evidence that the firefighters charged committed the crimes for monetary gain, Paulk said no.
“As far as we can tell, they derived no benefit,” Paulk said. “They don’t even get paid by the county. They get absolutely nothing.
“It was just the thrill of it. Nobody paid them to do it and there was no kickback.”
A conviction on first-degree arson charges carries a possible 20-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $50,000 in each case.
“It’s especially tragic when an arsonist turns out to be a firefighter, someone sworn to protect the public,” Oxendine stated in a press release.
The Irwinville volunteer firefighters charged and those charges are listed below:
—Chief Rusty Thomas, charged with two counts of first-degree arson, one count of second-degree arson, two counts of third-degree arson, one count of false statements and one count of obstruction of justice.
—Roy Brown Jr., charged with one count of first-degree arson.
—Kevin Burton, charged with one count of second-degree arson.
—Eric Lee Cowart, charged with one count of first-degree arson, one count of obstruction of justice and a probation violation charge.
—Joe Maye, charged with one count of first-degree arson, one count of third-degree arson and one count of obstruction of justice.
—Justin McCurdy, charged with two counts of first-degree arson.
—Sandy Mobley, charged with one count of party to a crime.
—Daniel Spires, charged with one count of first-degree arson and one count of second-degree arson.
Anyone with additional information concerning the investigation is urged to call the Irwin County Sheriff’s Office at 229-468-7459 or Oxendine’s office at 1-800-656-2298.