Background: The 300 block of Penn Street in Salisbury, Maryland (Google Maps). Inset: Janice Oney (Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal).
A woman is accused of intentionally starting a fire at a man”s home in Salisbury, Maryland, because he allegedly owed her $7.
Janice Oney, 51, is facing multiple charges, including first and second-degree arson, malicious burning, reckless endangerment, malicious destruction of property, and theft under $100, with the last three being misdemeanors. Court records from Wicomico County indicate she was released on a $25,000 unsecured personal bond after posting it on Monday.
The incident occurred on July 3. According to a resident from the 300 block of Penn Street in the city, he informed authorities that Oney, “someone he had known for several years,” was at his home and became upset after demanding $7, which she alleged he owed her.
The two reportedly argued before she left. However, she soon “returned minutes later with a bottle of gasoline, igniting the front door before fleeing the scene on a bicycle.” The fire did not spread significantly, as by the time investigators from the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Salisbury Fire Department arrived, the resident had already put it out, according to the state agency.
Despite the fire being extinguished, investigators pursued the case and evidence apparently indicated that Oney had “intentionally” started the fire. Alongside the resident’s testimony, surveillance footage from nearby businesses “helped connect Oney to the incident,” the Office of the State Fire Marshal stated.
Oney was arrested on Aug. 1 and placed in the Wicomico County Detention Center. She has a preliminary court hearing scheduled for Aug. 28.
Salisbury is located south of Delaware, near the Atlantic Ocean and about 30 miles west of Ocean City, Maryland.
