April 21, 2008

Man accused of setting fire

       A Center Grove area man broke into a woman's house, set her clothes and bed on fire and spray-painted profane insults on the wall while waiting for her to arrive, police said.  When she returned home, he grabbed her, slammed her onto the floor and pinned her down for a short time before she was able to escape to a neighbor's house.  Zachary Bova, 24, 653 Yeagy Road, Greenwood, was arrested on charges of arson, burglary, battery and criminal confinement.

         While out with a group of friends Sunday morning, Bova and a female friend had an argument that led him to break her cell phone in half, according to police.  Bova left with another friend, who told police he dropped Bova off at his request near the woman's house in the Mount Pleasant subdivision in the Center Grove area.  When she arrived home a short time later, the woman found curse words had been painted on the living room wall, that clothing was burning on her coffee table and that her bed was on fire.  She tried to leave the house, but Bova grabbed her by the arms and slammed her down to the ground, striking her head against the step in a breezeway, according to the police report.  She told police he pinned her down while the fire burned.  The fire was inside the house, and she wasn't held down long enough to suffer from smoke inhalation, sheriff's deputy Duane Burgess said.  She was able to break free shortly after he threw her down, and she ran to a neighbor's house, asking him to call police.

         The White River Fire Department was called out to the scene at 4:49 a.m. Sunday and had the fire under control in about 35 minutes, spokesman Jim Engmark said. The fire caused damage to the bedroom and front room of the house, including smoke damage, Jim Engmark said.  Her house, which had to have siding pulled off, also suffered some structural damage, Burgess said.  The woman has bruises on her arms and head that were consistent with her description of what happened, according to a police report.  She was treated by paramedics at the scene but declined to be taken to a hospital, Burgess said.  The back-door casing at the woman's house was splintered around the lock, which showed it had been kicked in, Burgess said.  After taking the victim's report, sheriff's deputies went to Bova's home and arrested him.  In the washing machine, his parents found a white T-shirt stained with the same color of paint used at the residence.  Police also found a shotgun loaded with three shells that had been taken out of his father's closet and placed next to his bed. The father kept it unloaded in his room, he told police.  Bova denied that he had been at her home after his friend dropped him off or that he had assaulted her.  During an interview with detectives, he asked if profanities had been sprayed on her wall, identifying the specific insults without any prompting, according to police. He later identified the T-shirt as his but couldn't explain how the paint got on it, according to a police report.  The fire department is conducting an arson investigation, Burgess said. Investigators found a lighter in the house the victim said didn't belong to her.  Bova is being held at the Johnson County jail on $74,000 bond.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)


 

          
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