Two Greene County individuals face several felony charges for allegedly setting a house on fire in Churdan last year.

According to court documents, a fire was reported before 5:30am on October 2nd at 802 Sand Street. After the fire, Greene County Sheriff Jack Williams contacted the State Fire Marshal’s Office to assist with the investigation into what he deemed to be suspicious.

Court documents show that during the investigation it was determined that 27-year-old Conner Groves of Scranton and 27-year-old also of Scranton Logan Grazier had conspired to set the residence on fire that Groves owned at the time. According to the criminal complaint, a friend of Groves helped take items out of the house a day or two before the fire, and after the fire Groves told the friend that Grazier was the one who started it.

Court documents show that Groves said she was out of town on the day of the fire, but that she called Grazier after her mom called her to tell her that it was on fire. However, the investigation discovered that Groves called Grazier several times before and after her mom called. Groves had also asked another individual who was living at her house to burn it down, but that individual refused and soon moved out. Investigators found the origin of where the fire started was where Groves told two different people she would have wanted to start the fire. 

A search warrant was executed at Groves’s new residence, at 901 Grant Street in Scranton on October 2nd, and items were found that were reported to the insurance company to have been destroyed in the fire. The insurance company also paid Groves for the loss of the Churdan homes and the damages to the neighboring homes. During the search, baggies of marijuana and drug paraphernalia were also recovered. Another executed search warrant on March 12, 2024 shows that Grazier had entered the back door of the house that was open to walk the dog the night before the fire. Court documents show that when Grazier was told about the fire the next morning, he went back to sleep.

Groves is charged with three Class C Felonies for first degree criminal mischief, second degree arson, and fraudulent sales practices over $10,000, two Class D Felonies for insurance fraud-presenting false information and conspiracy to commit non-forcible felony, a serious misdemeanor for her first offense for possession of marijuana and a simple misdemeanor for possession of drug paraphernalia. Grazier is charged with two Class C Felonies for first degree criminal mischief and second degree arson, and two Class D Felonies for conspiracy to commit non-forcible felony and insurance fraud-presenting false information. Both were booked into the Greene County Jail. Raccoon Valley Radio will bring you more information as it becomes official.