On Friday, March 10, 2017, Deputy State Fire Marshals served Christopher Law, 26, and Tyra Bell, 25, both of Waldorf, criminal summons’ for Arson in the 2nd Degree.
Law and Bell were developed as suspects in a June 27th fire that completely destroyed a 2007 PT Cruiser owned by Bell’s father, Frederick Bell.
Deputy State Fire Marshals were requested to respond to investigate the fire at 8:49 am at 5900 Amber Road in Bryans Road by the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. The burned out vehicle was discovered by a construction crew when they arrived to do road work in the area. The investigation revealed the fire had been intentionally set to the passenger compartment of the vehicle. The investigation also revealed the fire had occurred sometime in the middle of the night and had burned completely out requiring no fire department response.
During the course of the investigation, Christopher Laws and Tyra Bell were identified as suspects, ultimately leading to the issuance of criminal summons’ for each. Deputy State Fire Marshals served Christopher Law at his residence in Waldorf on March 8th and Tyra Bell was served on March 9th at the Maryland State Police barrack in La Plata.
Both Law and Bell were charged with Arson in the 2nd Degree, Malicious Burning/Fraud, Malicious Destruction of Property over $1,000.00 and Malicious Burning in the 2nd Degree.
If convicted of all charges they face a maximum penalty of over 29 years in prison and/or $38,000.00 in fines.
