Story Archive

Textbook Case

An apartment fire in Great Falls, Mont., was just a tad suspicious, investigators thought. First, the residents of the apartment where the fire started took out a renter’s insurance policy just 10 days before the fire. Second, neighbors say they saw the two roommates moving out all of their valuables and put them into a storage shed before the fire. Third, the men left just before the fire was reported. And fourth, when investigators went to their storage shed, they not only found the two men there retrieving their valuables, but they also found a fuel can with a wick sticking out of it, and an arson investigator’s manual. Brandon Fondren and Adrianne Davenport were arrested, and Fondren told investigators that Davenport, who is a suspect in “several” arson cases, set the fire intentionally. Both were charged with felony arson, felony criminal endangerment because they knew children lived right above them, and felony theft. (RC/Great Falls Tribune) ...Bad: they had a manual on how to avoid getting caught. Good: they found it was written for high school level and above.