Arson suspect charged with attempted murder
Mark Musella, prosecutor for Bergen, New Jersey, announced in a press release the charges were filed Jan. 31 against Dunn for two counts of first degree attempted murder, armed burglary, two counts of second degree aggravated assault; possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose; resisting arrest and obstruction, according to a Feb. 3 press release.
The new charges relate to Dunn's arrest in New Jersey, where authorities tracked down the wanted fugitive. A task force of officers from Pottsville Police, the Schuylkill County District Attorney's Office, Pennsylvania State Police, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) followed Dunn to Lodi, New Jersey, where he was eventually arrested.
His address is listed as York County, according to the release, but he remains in Schuylkill County Prison after his Jan. 27 arrest.
State police ruled arson as the cause of a house fire Jan. 17 at 678 N. Second St. and an adjoining home. The early morning blaze injured three people and displaced four, causing extensive damage to both homes.
Police said Dunn lit two Molotov cocktails — using bottles of Starbucks Frappuccino — and threw them at 678 N. Second St. One incendiary device landed near the front door, while the other appeared to hit a wire hanging in the street, police said. The suspect's son sustained minor burns and broken bones after jumping from a second floor window.
A vehicle used in the commission of the Jan. 17 arson was located near the intersection of Pasadena and Christopher streets in Lodi, New Jersey, according to a release from Pottsville Police Chief John R. Morrow.
Thanks to surveillance set up on the vehicle, at approximately 1:15 a.m., Dunn emerged from a house on Pasadena Street and got into the driver seat of the vehicle, according to the release.
'Dunn began to flee the scene in the vehicle and while doing so, struck an FBI vehicle, which caused the door to strike an FBI agent and momentarily pin him between the door and door opening,' according to the release. 'Dunn fled on Pasadena and crashed into a fence where he then fled on foot,' the release reads.
Dunn was found in a storage shed a short time later, according to the release.
Upon being located, Dunn began to swing a pick ax at officers, striking an agent in the back. No serious injuries resulted from the incident,' according to the release.
Dunn was transported back to Pennsylvania and arraigned on his original state charges: Aggravated arson, arson, possessing explosive/incendiary material, reckless burning or exploding, causing a catastrophe, criminal mischief, risking a catastrophe, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and aggravated cruelty to animals, according to police.
He also is charged with misdemeanor offenses of simple assault, failure to prevent a catastrophe, recklessly endangering another person, propulsion of missiles onto roadways, cruelty to animals, owning, selling, manufacturing or transferring incendiary devices, possessing an instrument of crime and making repairs/ selling offensive weapons, police said.
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