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Man charged with arson, insurance fraud after he allegedly set his wife’s vehicle on fire

LANCASTER — A 42-year-old man faces a number of charges, including arson and insurance fraud, after he allegedly set his wife’s vehicle on fire. Fid...
Fidel Dennison_graphic

LANCASTER — A 42-year-old man faces a number of charges, including arson and insurance fraud, after he allegedly set his wife’s vehicle on fire.

Fidel Dennison faces charges of arson, criminal conspiracy – arson with intent to collect insurance, risking catastrophe, criminal conspiracy – risking catastrophe, criminal mischief by fire, conspiracy – criminal mischief by fire, insurance fraud and criminal conspiracy – insurance fraud, court documents show.

The vehicle caught fire in the 300 block of South Ann Street on June 15. It was determined that the fire originated in the passenger compartment of the vehicle and had been deliberately set by human hands, charging documents said.

Police met with the vehicle’s owner, Candice Dennison, who said that the vehicle had been parked at the location for three days. She also told police that there were no known mechanical issues with the vehicle and that approximately $12,000 was still owed on the vehicle loan, according to charging documents.

During the investigation, police learned that the vehicle had been towed to a garage in Akron, Pennsylvania on March 23 due to the vehicle not starting — the vehicle needed a new timing chain and an estimate/invoice for the repair was more than $1,000. On June 12, the vehicle was then towed to from the lot to the location on South Ann Street where the fire later took place. Police wrote in the charging documents that there was no evidence that the vehicle ever operated or been driven after it had been towed to the garage in March.

Police also learned that the vehicle insurance police was cancelled in April and a new insurance policy with another company was created on May 7. That police was listed in the name of a third party, the vehicle owner’s niece, Chanliza Stormfeltz, who was reportedly the primary driver of the vehicle, charging documents said.

A claim for the vehicle was filed on June 17, two days after the fire.

Forensic examinations of the three individuals’ cell phones revealed that Fidel Dennison was in the vicinity of the vehicle just minutes prior to the time of the fire. Police stated in the charging documents that he could not have been at his home in Pequea Township at the time of the fire as he claimed during an earlier interview with an insurance claim investigator.

The examinations also revealed that Candice Dennison and Chanliza Stormfeltz were not in Lancaster County at the time of the fire.

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