Coweta Co. woman facing arson charge

Billy Hobbs, The Union-Recorder, Milledgeville, Ga.
·2 min read

Apr. 24—A 47-year-old Coweta County woman is being held without bond in the Baldwin County Jail on arson and other criminal charges following a house fire Saturday morning near Lake Sinclair, local authorities say.

A man living in the home was injured when he tried to remove a bed mattress that was reportedly deliberately set on fire.

Baldwin County Fire Rescue Capt. Bradley Towe, who investigates suspicious fires and determines the causes of other fires, identified the suspect as Chvondra Leeanskay Third of Newnan.

She is charged with one count of arson in the first degree, one count of aggravated assault and one count of cruelty to animals.

Firefighters responded to the fire call about 6:15 a.m. Saturday at a small house at 108 Old Williamsburg Road.

"When they arrived, they found the structure fully involved," Towe said.

The fire official described the dwelling as a 500-square-foot shed being utilized as a residence.

Firefighters battled the blaze for a short while before they extinguished it.

Towe said the suspect was staying with the man who lived there with his pet dog.

The fire investigator identified the injured man as Thomas Burgamy.

"His feet and one of his hands were burned from the fire, but he refused any treatment at the time," Towe said. "He was really more concerned about finding his dog, who ran off after the fire."

The dog was eventually tracked down by local authorities. Someone had taken the pet to the Baldwin County Animal Shelter. The dog's owner was expected to be reunited with him this week, Towe said.

The fire investigator said he interviewed the suspect at the scene, and about 10 minutes into talking with her and asking questions, "she confessed to setting the fire" and was taken into custody.

Towe said the woman said she set fire to the sheets on the bed with a cigarette lighter while Burgamy was lying in the bed asleep.

"He woke up to her setting the fire," Towe said.

Baldwin County Sheriff's Office Deputy Cecilio Reyes was later called to the scene and took Third to the county jail.