GRAND JUNCTION, CO — A 28-year-old man has been arrested and faces multiple counts of attempted murder and arson following a series of suspicious overnight fires that damaged an occupied condominium complex and a storage shed last week.
On Monday, June 29, at approximately 10:30 p.m., Grand Junction Police Department officers located and arrested Zachary Crone, 28, in the area of Linda Lane and Orchard Avenue. A warrant had been issued for his arrest following a intensive, multi-agency investigation.
The charges stem from an incident on Friday, June 26, at approximately 1:00 a.m., when police and fire personnel responded to a residential neighborhood bounded by North 10th and 12th Streets, and Walnut and Orchard Avenues. First responders discovered active fires burning along several fence lines. The flames quickly spread, damaging a storage shed and an occupied three-story residential condominium.
Grand Junction firefighters, with mutual aid from the Clifton Fire Protection District, successfully extinguished the blazes. No injuries were reported.
Due to the timing and close proximity of the fires, investigators immediately suspected arson. A joint investigation by the Grand Junction Police Department, the Grand Junction Fire Department, and the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control ultimately identified Crone as the suspect.
Crone was transported to the Mesa County Detention Facility and booked on the following charges:
- Criminal Attempt to Commit First-Degree Murder (7 Counts)
- First-Degree Arson (9 Counts)
- Reckless Endangerment (9 Counts)
- Criminal Mischief
This article is related to these previous incidents: