A man has been arrested for allegedly setting a vehicle on fire and attempting to burn structures at a business earlier this month, police said.
Advertisements
Harrison Andress, 38, who is homeless, was arrested Tuesday night and is awaiting preliminary arraignment on three counts of reckless burning or exploding in connection with a string of incidents in Falls Township.
Falls Township officers responded to a vehicle fire at Dependable Auto in the 300 block of Lincoln Highway at approximately 2:42 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
Police said officers found a 2010 Land Rover SUV engulfed in flames.
Advertisements
Security camera footage captured a male subject with a distinct gait and wearing dark clothing walking away from the vehicle on the dealership’s lot at approximately 2:05 a.m.
Authorities said they later identified the man in the video as Andress.
Advertisements
Roughly 30 minutes later, at 2:35 a.m., security camera video recorded the same person at the nearby Fairless Hills Garden Center on Lincoln Highway, police said.
Video showed the man removing pre-packaged firewood from a display pallet before moving out of the camera’s view toward a wooden-framed structure, police said.
According to investigators, they found kindling arranged to start a fire in the off-camera area and surrounded by pre-packaged firewood displaying black charring consistent with burning.
Advertisements
Additional footage showed the man taking three loose logs toward a tractor-trailer and officers later discovered the wood arranged near flattened cardboard boxes sandwiched between two wooden pallets, police said.
At approximately 10:48 p.m. Tuesday, a police corporal spotted a man matching the suspect’s description walking along New Falls Road.
Advertisements
Officers conducted a pedestrian stop and positively identified Andress, who had two active arrest warrants, police said.
Andress was taken into custody without incident.
At the time of his arrest, officers found a flashlight, a lighter, and a book of matches in his possession, according to investigators.
Advertisements
Andress was being held as of Thursday at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia for allegedly violating probation on a 2024 criminal trespassing conviction. Court documents show he is also accused of violating probation and parole in Bucks County stemming from a 2023 burglary case in Bensalem Township.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
