NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE (3/24/2018) A Bear man was charged with arson today after fire heavily damaged a Dollar Tree store near New Castle on Friday night, authorities said.
The blaze in the Beaver Brook Plaza shopping center off U.S. 13 (South DuPont Highway) was reported shortly after 7 p.m. Fire had hit the same store in January.
Smoke was pouring from the building when Wilmington Manor Fire Company arrived, with flames inside, said Michael G. Chionchio, assistant state fire marshal.
He said investigators from the Delaware state Fire Marshal’s Office determined the fire was intentionally set inside the store. Damage was estimated at $800,000.
No injuries were reported.
Timothy M. McDowell, 58, was apprehended at a home on Red Lion Road without incident, Chionchio said.
He was charged with first-degree felony arson and three felony counts of first-degree reckless endangering. He was awaiting arraignment.
Special agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted with the investigation and earlier today had offered a $5,000 reward in the case. The ATF also released a photo of a man they said was someone believed to have information that would help their investigation.
It was not immediately known if any tips were obtained as a result of the reward offer.
