Louisiana Man Charged after Burning Vehicle Found in Cane Field

(KPEL News) - Louisiana law enforcement officials with the Office of the State Fire Marshal say their deputies have arrested a 22-year-old man for allegedly setting a vehicle on fire in a cane field.

The whole situation unfolded in a Franklin cane field on July 13, 2024. Deputies with the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Chief Ed Branch, have been investigating since the vehicle fire was reported.

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In addition to someone setting that vehicle on fire last year, investigators say just two hours before the blaze, the exact vehicle had been stolen from a Walmart parking lot.

Now, deputies have arrested a Morgan City man for allegedly being responsible for several crimes.

READ MORE: LOUISIANA MAN ARRESTED FOR ARSON, ALLEGEDLY SET HIS OWN TRUCK ON FIRE

Officials arrested Jamerie T. Gash on the following charges:

• Arson with Intent to Defraud
• Criminal Conspiracy

They believe Gash was the person who set fire to the vehicle. When officials in St. Mary Parish pulled over Gash, he was then booked into jail on a litany of charges in addition to the charges related to the vehicle. They are as follows:

• View Outward and Inward of a Window
• Proper Equipment Required on Vehicles
• Aggravated Flight from Officer
• Obstruction of Highway - Aggravated
• Resisting Arrest or an Officer
• No Insurance
• Hit and run
• Aggravated Assault with a Motor Vehicle Upon an Officer
• Criminal Trespass
• Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute
• Possession of Methamphetamines with Intent to Distribute
• Possession of a Schedule I Drug with Intent to Distribute
• Possession of Heroin with Intent to Distribute
• Possession of a Firearm in the Presence of a Controlled Dangerous Substance 
• Illegal Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon
• Possession of a Firearm by a Person Convicted of Domestic Battery
• No Driver's License
• Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

When he was booked into jail, his bail was set at $642,750.

The Office of The State Fire Marshal Has An Arson Hotline

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