Merriman, 20, charged with Federal Mogul fire
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Charged with aggravated arson and attempted murder is Joseph Lee (Rooster) Merriman, 20, of Dale Ridge Road. He was arrested late Tuesday afternoon after authorities received a tip Sunday and began an investigation.
According to the warrants, it is alleged Merriman “brought a candle to work and showed it to several other people. Later he put it in a container, lit the candle, and put it in the packaging area ? Merriman later admitted to another person he had set the fire and how he had set it.”
Smithville Police Chief Jim Baker said Merriman apparently was just trying to generate enough smoke to get out of work for the night and the fire got out of hand.
“I believe he thought it was just going to smoke, but it got out of control,” Baker said.
Merriman was placed under a $300,000 bond. The attempted murder charge stems from the fact other employees were in the building at the time, “putting their lives at risk.”
Merriman was hired at the facility through a local employment agency.
As employees wondered about their future and officials wondered about the cause of the blaze, one thing was certain – the large, extremely hot and stubborn fire kept firefighters busy for nearly 17 hours before they returned to the fire hall.
Even then the fire was not completely out, but there was no immediate danger of further loss to the building and only smaller groups of firemen returned to keep an eye on the fire Friday night and during the weekend.
Smithville Fire Chief Charlie Parker had said Friday morning early indications were the fire started in the southeast portion of the building. There was a report employees saw smoke in the ceiling and that is when the building was evacuated.
The fire, which was reported shortly after midnight Friday morning, completely destroyed the interior of the 244,000-square-foot building. Only records and computers from the office area were saved. Parker estimated the damage between $80 and $100 million. Left temporarily out of work are 225 employees, many from the same family, who wondered about their future as word of the fire spread about as quickly as the flames inside the building.
Approximately 40 employees were inside when the fire alarm sounded and they were safely evacuated.