WASHINGTON, N.C. - New details this afternoon in regards to the man recently arrested and charged with arson in connection to several fires in two counties here in the east.
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office says 26-year-old Todd Jarvis of Bath turned himself in Thursday afternoon.
Captain Watson with Beaufort County tells Nine On Your Side that they've been watching him for two weeks. But police caught a break earlier this week when deputies arrested Jarvis for reckless driving.
That's when they found evidence linking him to the fires. What exactly that evidence is isn’t being released at this time.
They've charged Jarvis with setting fires in Beaufort and Washington counties, as well as felony breaking and entering.
There are still five unsolved Beaufort County arson fires that are still being investigated.
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WASHINGTON, N.C. - The string of eleven arson fires in Beaufort County has been keeping law enforcement busy, and for the past several weeks investigators have had their eye on 26-year-old Todd Jarvis.
“In the last week we've concentrated our efforts on him by conducting surveillance and conducting a search warrant on his residence," said Capt Kenneth Watson of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office.
Watson says they found evidence at Jarvis' home that linked him to six of the eleven Beaufort County fires. Jarvis was also charged with one arson fire in Washington County.
Jarvis turned himself into the Beaufort county magistrate’s office earlier today and was released on bond.
The Kinston Police Department confirmed Jarvis was employed with them until 2008. Officials also told Nine on Your Side that Jarvis was previously employed with the Greene County sheriff's office in recent years.
We also learned that just last year Lenoir County Fire Officials investigated a fire at Jarvis' residence in LaGrange.
Jarvis told deputies “emotional distress” in his life was a motivator in these cases. Online records show that last august Jarvis' 29-year-old wife passed away. A Facebook page believed to belong to Jarvis was last updated this morning. The last status update said “lord please forgive me for what I have done.”
That Facebook page has since been deleted.
Investigators credit the local fire department for protecting key evidence on the arson scenes, as well as tips from the community in solving these fires.
They are still investigating the remaining five Beaufort County arson fires.
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WASHINGTON, N.C. - A former police officer and deputy told deputies it was emotional distress that caused him to set several fires in Beaufort County.
26 year old Todd Austin Jarvis of Bath is charged with 6 counts of Burning of Certain Buildings and 4 countys of Felony Breaking and Entering.
Lenoir County officials tell 9OYS Jarvis worked as a Kinston police officer and as a Greene County deputy.
Jarvis was released after posting a $70,000 bond.
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WASHINGTON, N.C. - Beaufort County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Clearly was born and raised in the county.
He allowed our cameras to join him on his nightly patrol.
"We're looking for any suspicious vehicles or people or anything in the area that looks out of the ordinary,” said Clearly.
Two weeks ago while on patrol Cleary received a call from dispatch about a suspicious fire on Highway 264. While he was responding to that fire he discovered another abandoned residence that had be consumed by flames.
That night alone five buildings in Beaufort and Washington counties were destroyed due to arson.
WASHINGTON, N.C.- On any given night each Beaufort County Sheriff's deputy patrols close to 300 miles of road concentrating on areas with abandoned buildings where the fires have been taking place
In the wake of the arsons, deputies continue to make there presence known, but they can't be everywhere and are asking for the communities help.
If you see anything out of the ordinary and vehicles you don't recognize, perhaps anyone driving slowly past abandoned residences or anything that appears not normal-should give us a call, said Clearly while we were on patrol.
So while deputies continue to patrol, investigators continue to look for the puzzle piece that will bring these cases to a close.
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WASHINGTON, N.C. - Two more fires in Beaufort County are under investigation as suspected arsons.
Crews responded to a building fire on Bay City Road in Aurora around one o'clock in the morning.
And a short while later the Sheriff's Office discovered an open gas line and burned items inside the Long Acre Community Building on Highway 32.
The number of suspicious fires continues to grow.
Deputies with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said that in the past two weeks there have been ten confirmed arson cases in Beaufort County.
Investigators said they are examining these cases and looking for similarities, not only as far as the geographic location but also evidence left behind at the crime scene.
Investigators from both the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and the SBI are working several leads and they send this warning to who ever is behind the fires,"Our immediate message would be to stop now before someone loses their life. We've been very fortunate that only property has been damaged to this point. But with each fire, the risk only increases for the potential loss of life."
Tonight, Nine On Your Side's Sasha Horne will be riding along with the Beaufort County deputies as they patrol. Coming up at 11, We'lll take you inside their efforts to have a presence in the community and put a stop to these crimes.
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AURORA, N.C. – Two more fires in Beaufort County are under investigation as suspected arsons.
This brings the total to ten cases that the SBI has responded to in the county in just two weeks.
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office got a call around one o'clock this morning about a fire at an abandoned house on Bay City Road in Aurora. First responders called the fire suspicious and firefighters extinguished the blaze.
Then, just after five o'clock, they got another report of a strong gas smell at the Long Acre Community Building on Highway 32 in Plymouth. Firefighters discovered an open gas line and burned items inside the building.
The SBI is processing both scenes.
Deputies say they're most likely connected to eight other arsons there in the last two weeks.
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