Franconia woman faces jail time on arson charges

A Franconia Township woman faces about four years of court supervision on arson-related charges in connection with a fire at her residence.

Linda S. Sellers, 66, of the 300 block of Cowpath Road, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail after she pleaded guilty to a felony charge of arson endangering property in connection with a May 2020 incident at her residence.

Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered Sellers to complete two years’ probation consecutive to parole, meaning Sellers will be under court supervision for about four years.

Ferman said Sellers also must comply with all recommendations of a mental health evaluation.

Sellers will receive credit for time she spent in jail, while awaiting court action, since July 5, 2021.

An investigation began about 2:30 a.m. May 31, 2020, when Franconia police were dispatched to a house fire in the 300 block of Cowpath Road. A neighbor reported “that the front porch was on fire and heard a female screaming,” according to a criminal complaint filed Franconia Police Officer

Wayne Pursell.

“I arrived a few minutes later and found a pile of furniture and other items on the front porch that were fully engulfed,” Pursell alleged in the arrest affidavit, adding he observed Sellers walking around the north side of the residence. “Linda was screaming incoherently.”

When police asked Sellers if she started the fire she allegedly responded with obscenities and confessed to setting the blaze, while raising her hand which held a knife, according to court papers.

The officer yelled for her to drop the knife but Sellers approached the officer “in an aggressive manner” and the officer deployed a Taser device and the prongs made contact with Sellers, who fell to the ground, according to the arrest affidavit. Sellers was taken into custody without further incident.

Fire investigators found four other fires had been set on the first floor inside the house, according to court documents. Authorities did not include a damage estimate in court documents.

As part of the plea agreement, other charges of attempted simple assault, recklessly endangering other persons, possessing an instrument of crime, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief were dismissed against Sellers.