Nanjemoy man charged with arson for weekend fire

Allegedly set the blaze following series of run-ins with the victim

Stephan Anthony Mayr, 60, of Nanjemoy has been charged with first- and second-degree arson and first-degree burglary, second-degree malicious burning, theft less than $100 and two counts of trespassing in connection with a house fire over the weekend.

On Saturday morning, a one-story, single-family residence at 12085 Woodbury Road in Nanjemoy was fully engulfed in fire. The fire originated in the rear interior of the home.

The victim, the owner of the residence, advised Deputy State Fire Marshal Brandon Shepperd that Mayr and himself, who are neighbors, have had ongoing problems over the last month.

Through a written statement given by the victim, he stated he noticed a broken door a couple weeks prior to the fire. The victim put a sign on his door facing the defendant’s residence that said “No Money, No Drugs, Waste of Time PCP next door.” The victim also placed a green “BULLET PROOF 2” trail camera on a table facing the door inside his residence.

According to Charles County District Court documents, on Friday around 1 p.m., the victim left the residence and returned around 4 p.m. When he returned to his residence, the door was opened and the trail camera was gone. The victim confronted Mayr and advised him that he had more than one camera and Mayr was going to get caught.

Charles County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the residence for a report of breaking and entering. While deputies spoke with the victim, Mayr allegedly began shooting several shots from a shotgun and also began shooting a rifle several times. No legal action was taken at that time.

The victim advised Shepperd he was afraid to stay at his home and stayed at the La Quinta Inn on Friday night and provided receipt of his checkout at 10:47 a.m. on Saturday, after receiving a call from his wife, who lives out of state, informing him the house was on fire.

On Saturday, 35 firefighters from Nanjemoy Volunteer Fire Department and surrounding departments responded to the fire around 10:26 a.m. Approximately $200,000 in total damages resulted from the fire. No injuries were reported. It took approximately 25 minutes for firefighters to control the fire.

As firefighters were extinguishing the flames, they reportedly noticed Mayr hiding behind a tree on the edge of the property, pacing back and forth on the property line. The CCSO advised Mayr to stay on his own property.

Firefighters asked Mayr if he knew what happened and they observed a gas can and blow torch sitting on the porch of his house approximately 25 yards from the victim’s residence. When Shepperd spoke to Mayr, he allegedly pushed a small live snake he was holding toward Shepperd’s face. Shepperd moved Mayr’s hand away and was invited toward Mayr’s boat under his covered carport.

When Mayr walked away, burn marks on his gray hooded sweatshirt were observed by Shepperd along with the red ignitable liquids container and blow torch that the fire department personnel reported earlier.

While investigation into the incident was ongoing, the victim walked to the property line and advised Mayr to no longer trespass on his property. Two minutes later, Mayr walked onto the victim’s property and was arrested by the sheriff’s office deputies and taken to the Charles County Detention Center.

On Saturday, a search warrant was executed for Mayr’s property at 7:21 p.m. During the search, the torch and red ignitable liquid container were observed and collected as evidence. According to court documents, the red ignitable liquid container had a small amount of liquid inside. Inside of a drawer in the kitchen island, a green trail camera was found, matching the same description given by the victim prior to the fire.

The Charles County Sheriff’s Office received an additional search warrant for guns located inside the residence due to a protective order served on Mayr while at the detention center.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal’s Bomb Squad and the Prince George’s County Bomb Squad assisted in the investigations.

Mayr is being held without bond.