Serial arsonist arrested, Baltimore police say

Police said John Newcomb told them he used rags, scrap paper or pieces of wood to set seven fires in homes and sheds in Northeastern Baltimore over the past three years.

Newcomb, 49, of the 3800 block of Pinewood Avenue, was being held without bail at the Baltimore City Detention Center on Friday, after police charged him with first-degree arson in the crimes.

City police said they were alerted to Newcomb?s activities after Baltimore County police named him a suspect in an arson at Schmidt?s Baking Co. in Perry Hall.

At a May 15 interview at Baltimore County?s White Marsh police station, Newcomb confessed to setting the Baltimore County fire, then admitted to setting several fires in Baltimore City spanning several years, charging documents state.

He agreed to point out what houses he set ablaze because he didn?t know the exact addresses, police said.

He took investigators through the Rosemont Community, pointing out houses and describing the fires he set, charging documents state. Most of the fires occurred in vacant properties, police said.

Among the blazes were:

? A Sept. 9, 2006, 5:49 a.m. house fire in the 3800 block of Fleetwood Avenue.

? A Nov. 17, 2006, 4:55 a.m. house fire in the 6500 block of Rosemont Avenue.

? A Dec. 26, 5:02 a.m. shed fire at Popeye?s Chicken in the 6600 of Belair Road.

? A May 3, 3:32 a.m., house fire in the 3700 block of Pinewood Avenue.

Newcomb has a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 17 in Baltimore City District Court.

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