Leavenworth firefighter arrested for allegedly setting 15 fires

Indiana Conservation Officers and State Fire Marshals arrested a Leavenworth man Wednesday evening in conjunction with 15 arsons in the Leavenworth area over the past week.

Brian Stoneciphe, 27, was arrested and booked into the Crawford County Jail on multiple charges including Level 4 felony arson and criminal mischief.

Multiple agencies have scrambled to respond to fires this week including two that occurred within an hour of each other shortly after 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Indiana Conservation Officer Dennis Talley received information from concerned citizens about the incidents. He worked with State Fire Marshal Matt Wells and determined Stonecipher was a prime suspect during the investigation.

Talley, Wells and Indiana State Police Trooper Heath Carkuff interviewed and arrested Stonecipher this evening after linking him to 15 arsons including one in March on Hoosier National Forest property. He allegedly attempted to set two fires at a vacant church on Beechwood Road near Leavenworth this week.

Stonecipher, a Leavenworth Volunteer Firefighter, and also a FedEx truck driver, admitted to starting several fires while utilizing his FedEx truck and then responding to assist in extinguishing the fires as a firefighter.

The incident remains under investigation, and additional charges are possible. Anyone with information concerning this investigation is encouraged to contact Indiana Conservation Officers’ Central Dispatch at 812-837-9536 or the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Arson Hotline at 1-800-382-4628.

All charges are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.