We’ve heard the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child,” well in the case of the arson investigation of the Jefferson Pizza Ranch, it takes several agencies to conduct a major investigation.

Following the early morning hours of the alleged incident on January 27th, the Jefferson Police and Fire departments, the Greene County Sheriff’s office and the State Fire Marshal’s office began the investigation in what authorities considered to be arson right out of the shoot.

Greene County Chief Deputy Jack Williams explains how each agency handles their part of the overall investigation.

“I could concentrate on the fire (investigation); while (Police) Sergeant (Heath) Enns concentrated on the investigative part as far as suspects, persons of interest (and) employees; and the State Fire Marshal was able to help push evidence through the DCI (Division of Criminal Investigation) lab a little quicker, because they are a state agency. It helps our investigation go so much faster when you have a team that works together as a team instead of individual departments.”

Police Chief Mark Clouse says the State Fire Marshal’s office and the Jefferson Fire Department worked together to have samples tested at the DCI lab.

“(They) took some samples of carpeting and different items like that from the locations of interest in the business itself. And those samples showed that accelerance had been used in different locations in the business.”

As a result the owner, Robert Schultz, is charged with felonies for arson, criminal mischief and insurance fraud. The case remains under investigation with additional suspects and charges pending completion of the investigation.

Raccoon Valley Radio will continue to bring you more information as it becomes official.