Ex-employee denied bond in Benning fire probe

[unhappycamper]

The Judge Advocate General's office at Fort Benning, Ga., is shown Feb. 11 after it burned. Federal agents say Shawana Topekia Pierce, 30, used the MySpace name “Firestarter,” and she is being held without bond on charges she set the building on fire.


Ex-employee denied bond in Benning fire probe
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Feb 19, 2009 18:38:30 EST

COLUMBUS, Ga. — A woman who federal agents say used the name “Firestarter” on her MySpace Web page was ordered held without bond Thursday on charges she set ablaze the Judge Advocate General’s office at Fort Benning.

An affidavit unsealed by U.S. Magistrate G. Mallon Faircloth said the profile name on the Web page of Shawana Topekia Pierce was observed Feb. 6, the day the JAG office burned to the ground, and the next day. The affidavit said the name had been removed by Feb. 8.

Pierce, 30, a former employee at the JAG office who earlier was suspected of stealing office supplies, was arrested Feb. 11. She ran into nearby woods when investigators went to her apartment building with a search warrant, according to the affidavit signed by an agent of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which investigated the blaze along with military authorities.

The affidavit by ATF agent Dennis Butler said a car rented by Pierce was loaded with suitcases and garment bags, indicating she planned to leave the area.

Wal-Mart security video recorded Pierce buying a 5-gallon red plastic gas container and two green propane bottles about 4½ hours before the fire, the document said.


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/02/ap_benning_fire_021909/%2e