Man jailed for arson at cabin
Breion Carson Souder also sentenced to several years of probation
A 19-year-old Franconia man was sent to jail after he admitted to taking part in the intentional setting of a fire at a wood cabin in Marlborough Township.
Breion Carson Souder, of the 300 block of Moyer Road, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of arson in connection with an August 2017 structure fire along the 1600 block of Swamp Creek Road in Marlborough Township. Judge Richard P. Haaz, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered Souder to complete five years’ probation, meaning Souder will be under court supervision for about seven years.
Souder must undergo an arson risk assessment and will be under addict supervision while serving his sentence, the judge added.
Souder also must pay $40,000 in restitution to the Marlborough man who owned the cabin.
A 14-year-old Souderton area boy also was implicated in the arson and faced juvenile court action.
An investigation began about 6:42 p.m. Aug. 3, 2017, when the Green Lane Fire Company was dispatched to the Swamp Creek Road area for a report of a house fire.
“Upon arrival, first responders encountered a two-story wood
frame cabin well involved,” state police Trooper Shaun Maher wrote in a criminal complaint. “The property was damaged extensively by fire.”
The fire was investigated by Maher, the state police fire marshal, with the assistance of county Detective John Fallon. Maher and Fallon determined that “the fire was incendiary in nature, that is intentionally set by human hands,” according to the criminal complaint.
“In the debris inside
the cabin they located a badly burned can of spray paint,” said Maher, adding officials also found graffiti in blue spray paint on the outside of the cabin. “They also located an empty can of charcoal lighter fluid on the lawn south of the cabin. The cabin sustained severe, structural damage.”
First responders told investigators that a woman approached them stating that her 14-year-old son had admitted to starting the fire after running away from her home in Souderton in the company of Souder, who was 18 at the time, according to the criminal complaint.
Under questioning by detectives, the 14-year-old boy told investigators that he and Souder entered the cabin and used a lighter to ignite the spray from a spray paint can, lighting fires on the first and second floors of the cabin, according to the arrest affidavit. The boy claimed he and Souder also used charcoal lighter fluid they found at the cabin, court documents alleged.
Souder, under questioning by detectives, maintained that he tried to use the spray paint and lighter but was unsuccessful. But Souder admitted he used a bottle of “Fire Lighter” to ignite a fire in a secondfloor
bedroom, according to the criminal complaint.
Souder also admitted that he threw a gasoline can onto a kitchen table which ignited a table cloth, while his 14-year-old friend set fire to the kitchen cabinets, according to the arrest affidavit.
The investigation determined that Souder and his alleged teenage accomplice did not report the fire and left the cabin and went to another friend’s home.
“The fire had burned intensely, endangering the firefighters who responded to the scene and it could have easily spread to the heavily wooded surroundings,” Maher alleged.