A Baltimore police officer posted bail Wednesday after being charged with malicious burning and fraud for allegedly setting her own car on fire, according to court documents.
“The charges stemmed from an internal affairs investigation,” according to police spokesman Matt Jablow. Terre Nicole Shields, a seven-year member of the force, “has been suspended,” he said.
The charging documents state that investigators became suspicious when Shields? car, which she reported stolen from the front of her Baltimore County apartment on June 18, was engulfed in flames hours later in the 2600 block of Flora Street in Baltimore. The documents state the 2002 Acura MDX SUV was found “approximately four blocks from a convenience store” operated by Shields, 28, and her boyfriend. Investigators also stated the vehicle had an anti-theft device. “Without a key assigned and coded for a particular vehicle, the vehicle cannot be stolen by conventional methods,” the documents state.
Fire investigators determined the fire “originated in the passenger compartment,” and recovered the remains of a “red melted gasoline can.”
Witnesses had seen the vehicle with “heavy damage” near the store prior to the burning, the documents state.
Jablow said Shields is suspended with pay pending a suspension hearing.
On Tuesday, Shields appeared in District Court, where bail was set at $50,000. Arraignmentis scheduled for Oct. 30.
