Mountain Ranch Man charged with arson for Dorrington fires
A Mountain Ranch man remains in the custody of the Calaveras County Jail following an investigation last week in which he’s accused of purposefully starting fires in the Dorrington area and destroying a cabin.
Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Greg Stark did not share information related to the alleged motive of the man, but said an investigation revealed he entered the dwelling with the intent to commit a felony and later deliberately set the fires which destroyed several acres of forest lands, an outbuilding and the cabin.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, three fires with suspicious origins were reported between Nov. 26 and 27 in the area of
Boards Crossing Road in Dorrington. Stark said the fires were responded to and extinguished by crews from Cal Fire and Ebbetts Pass Fire District.
The fires were investigated, and “multiple items of evidence” were acquired at the scenes, a press release stated.
Camera footage led to the release of a photo of a man who was seen in the area at the time of the fires.
On Dec. 22, the photo was released to the public as a person of interest who may have information to further the investigation into the fires.
According to a subsequent press release on Monday, several tips were received from the public regarding the identification of the man in the photo released by the Calaveras
County Sheriff’s Office and a man was contacted at a home in Mountain Ranch on Dec. 23.
Carl Morrison, 33, was contacted on the 16700 block of Joy Road in Mountain Ranch and taken into custody that morning.
By about 10 a.m. on Dec. 23, Morrison was booked into the Calaveras County Jail on suspicion of arson to an inhabited structure, arson to forest land, burglary, vehicle theft and misdemeanor theft.
As of Tuesday, Morrison remained in the custody of the Calaveras County Jail on $250,000 bail, Stark said.
A Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office press release said the investigation was ongoing, and no additional information was available at this time.
Contact Giuseppe Ricapito at gricapito@ uniondemocrat.net or (209) 588-4526.