The Knoxville News-Sentinel
COCKE COUNTY, Tenn. — Three Cocke County teenagers — two of them volunteer firefighters — have been charged with setting a series of fires in the Parrottsville community.
The fires began in August and targeted unoccupied dwellings, barns, hay bales and land, Cocke County Sheriff Armando Fontes said in a news release Tuesday.
Tyler Green and Jacob Henry, both 17, were charged with two counts each of setting fire to personal property, one count of arson and one count of reckless burning.
Both were volunteer firemen, Fontes said, and the apparent motive for setting the fires was so they could respond and fight the blazes.
Matt M. Stokley, 16, was charged with one count of arson for setting fire to an unoccupied cabin with a value of $5,000. More charges are pending against Stokley, Fontes said.
The five-month investigation is ongoing and more charges are expected, Fontes said.
More details as they develop online and in Thursday’s News Sentinel.
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