Three Corbin men arrested for setting arson fire

Three Corbin men are facing arson charges in Laurel County for allegedly starting a fire that destroyed a mobile home on Byerly Road Monday morning.

Jerry Lowe, 44, David Reynolds, 33 and Keith Fritz, 23, were taken into custody and later charged with starting the fire following an investigation by Kentucky State Police arson investigator Brian Lewis.

West Knox Firefighters were called to the scene at 2:10 a.m. Chief Daryl Baker said firefighters were on scene with minutes of receiving the call. However, because of the advanced age of the trailer, the fire had too much of a head start and there was nothing they could do to save it.

In addition to the call for firefighters, dispatchers put out a description of a suspicious vehicle seen leaving the scene.

Within the hour, Corbin Police Sgt. Glenn Taylor found the vehicle, which had a tarp on top of the roof and initiated a traffic stop.

"They had taken the siding off of the trailer and were using the tarp to secure it to the vehicle," said Corbin Police Public Affairs Officer Major Rob Jones.

In his interviews with the suspects, Taylor reported the men claimed the trailer was the property of one of them and after stripping it, they set fire to it in order to get rid of it.

Kentucky State Police Trooper First Class Don Trosper, public affairs officer at Post 11 in London, said several individuals owned the trailer and investigators are checking with the owners to see if they knew about the plans to burn the trailer.
Lowe, Reynolds and Fritz were each charged with one count of second-degree arson and lodged in the Laurel County Detention Center. They pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday in Laurel District Court.

Judge Skip Hammons set Lowe’s bond at $10,000 cash. Fritz and Reynolds bonds are each $10,000 surety with condition of home incarceration.

They will return to court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing to determine whether the case should be presented to a Laurel County Grand Jury.