THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 6, 1996 TAG: 9608060363
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 96 lines
A city employee on probation for threatening to burn down a Wal-Mart store was charged Monday with setting fire to Princess Anne Elementary School. It was the city's fifth school arson since September.
The fire did minor damage to the school, which was already undergoing an extensive renovation and addition.
Fire spokesman Mike Wade said investigators do not think this case is related to the unsolved arsons at Princess Anne and First Colonial high schools. The April 2 fire at First Colonial caused minor damage, but the Sept. 1 blaze at Princess Anne has cost more than $7 million.
In May, two intentionally set fires at Windsor Oaks Elementary caused more than $150,000 in damage. Four teens were charged.
Shortly after Monday's fire, arson investigators arrested 33-year-old Brent J. Redfern of the 800 block of 14th St. Police had identified him as a suspect and stopped his car at Sixth Street and Pacific Avenue not long after the fire was reported, investigators said. Inside the car were a container of kerosene and a shotgun, investigators said.
Redfern's car was stopped because police Officer Scott Spradlin spotted it driving away from the school, authorities said. The officer, sent to investigate a burglar alarm at the school, jotted down the license number and a description of the car as it passed him.
When Spradlin got to the school and found the fire, he called dispatchers with the car's description, which was relayed to officers throughout the city.
Spradlin then helped put out one of the fires with an extinguisher from his police cruiser. Wade, the fire spokesman, said Spradlin's ``quick actions saved a lot of damage to the school.''
Monday afternoon, construction crews were assessing the damage. In the new library, there was a small burn spot on the blue carpet, near a broken window. Liquid trails that smelled like kerosene spread like tentacles from the burn, meandering through the library. Those trails did not ignite.
A classroom in the rear of the school also had some minor burn damage. Investigators said Redfern set two fires at the school.
After interviewing Redfern on Monday, investigators also charged him with trying to burn three police boats early Monday morning. He was also charged with setting fire to a police shed in the same case.
Authorities said Redfern was apparently upset because he recently had a run-in with a police officer.
Wade said Redfern is a mechanic at the city garage on Leroy Drive, less than a half-mile from the burned school. Court records show Redfern has worked for the city about eight years.
Records in Redfern's Circuit Court file, amassed during a prosecution for threatening to burn the Wal-Mart, also show he has a history of mental problems and has been under psychiatric treatment.
In an April letter in the court file, a doctor said Redfern was taking drugs commonly used to treat depression. The letter concluded that Redfern ``is not presenting any danger to himself or others.''
Redfern was put on probation for threatening to torch the Lynnhaven Wal-Mart in September after he was refused a refund, the records show. According to his court file, Redfern told store employees, ``If this place burns down, you'll know why.''
Redfern pleaded guilty to a felony charge of threatening to burn the building in February. He was sentenced to a year in jail, with all the time suspended on the promise to pay fines and court costs, continue counseling and to stay out of trouble for three years. He may now have to serve that sentence.
Redfern was also convicted of indecent exposure in 1990 and in 1991, according to General District Court records.
Redfern's court records also show prior arrests or charges for carrying a concealed weapon, grand larceny, assault, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The grand larceny charge was dismissed. The dispositions of the other charges were not clear.
City spokeswoman Pam Lingle said she didn't know how a felon with a history of mental problems and legal run-ins could continue to work for the city, adding that she and other city officials were unaware of Redfern's past. Lingle said city officials were preparing a statement, but they hadn't finished it as of Monday evening.
For the Princess Anne Elementary fire, investigators have charged Redfern with two counts of arson. He also was charged with making a fire bomb, burglary, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
He was being held without bail in the city jail. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Brent J. Redfern, 33, was arrested Monday.
MORT FRYMAN photos, The Virginian-Pilot
Mary Merrick, a school area custodial supervisor, sweeps up debris
in a classroom at Princess Anne Elementary. The room sustained only
minor damage from one of two fires set Monday. Police arrested a man
seen leaving the scene shortly after the fires started.
Princess Anne Elementary, located on Seaboard Road in Virginia
Beach, was already undergoing an extensive renovation and addition.
Map
Beach School Fires
KEYWORDS: FIRE ARSON by CNB