Kristopher Glenn Marshall, born 1982, was detained by police Sept. 27, just two days after he allegedly started a fire at the corner of Springfield Road and Burtch Road around 11 a.m.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/RCMP
September 29, 2017 - 3:00 PM
KELOWNA – A South Okanagan man of no fixed address is being held in custody while police investigate his potential involvement in a string of arsons around the city.
Kristopher Glenn Marshall, born 1982, was detained by police Sept. 27, just two days after he allegedly started a small fire at the corner of Springfield Road and Burtch Road around 11 a.m. They were unable to find him until the next day when he was taken into police custody near the intersection of Gordon Drive and Harvey Avenue.
Police issued a public appeal for information, saying he was suspected of lighting numerous fires, but court documents show he is charged with just one count of arson to own property and mischief under $5,000.
Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey said in a media release investigators believe the fire may be related to a handful of other fires reported during the past couple weeks in Kelowna.
A stack of wooden pallets was set on fire behind a business in the 1500 block of Gordon Drive shortly after 4 a.m. on Sept. 14. The duplex next door was also damaged and an unidentified man was seen nearby prior to the fire.
Five days later, around 3 a.m., RCMP responded to a pair of dumpster fires in the rear parking lot of a business in the 1800 block of Baron Road.
Two days after that, on Sept. 21, just before noon, RCMP received a report of an apparent overnight arson discovered outside a business located in the 1500 block of Banks Road.
That same day a small amount of debris was set on fire on the sidewalk in front of a business in the 2300 block of Highway 97 North.
Marshall, who uses the alias Joe Franklin or Jeff Madison, has a criminal record going back to 2013. It includes numerous breaches, drug charges, trafficking, mischief and theft.
He is being held in custody pending a bail hearing scheduled for Oct. 12.
There are at least 12 other suspicious fires that remain unsolved in the Central Okanagan this year.
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