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LaFayette volunteer firefighter indicted on 8 arson charges

By Joy Lukachick, Chattanooga Times Free Press
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Melvin Chase Melvin Chase
LAFAYETTE, WALKER COUNTY -

(Times Free Press) -- A former volunteer firefighter who was arrested in December 2010 for a slew of arsons in LaFayette, Ga., was indicted today on eight counts of arson.

The Walker County grand jury indicted 34-year-old Melvin Chase in connection with a series of fires from 2005 to 2010, said LaFayette Police Sgt. Stacey Meeks.

Chase, who was hired as a LaFayette volunteer firefighter in 2005, was arrested after admitting he had started several fires in abandoned buildings across town, Meeks said at the time.

Chase was charged with one count of arson at the time, but authorities said they would be able to prove he was responsible for 20 arsons. But police were only able to bring enough evidence against Chase to ask the grand jury to indict him on eight counts.

Read more on the story from our news partners at the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

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