Deputy State Fire Marshals arrested a Calvert County man in connection with a series of eleven auto fires that occurred between September 2005 and July 2006.
Christopher A. Gasch, 26 of Owings, was arrested last week and charged with multiple counts of second degree arson and malicious burning in the first degree.
Gasch was incarcerated at the Calvert County Detention Center awaiting an appearance before a District Court Commissioner.
The investigation of the fires began on Sept. 18, 2005 when a 2002 Ford Explorer was destroyed in Owings.
Over the next several months, additional vehicle fires were investigated and Deputy State Fire Marshals determined each to have been deliberately ignited.
On July 20, 2006, a burned 2003 Acura owned by the defendant was found on Old Bayside Road in Chesapeake Beach.
Information developed by Deputy State Fire Marshals during the spree and statements from the defendant led them to identify Gasch as a suspect.
Further investigation and interviews with the defendant implicated him as having been responsible for igniting the series of fires. A motive for the blazes remains unclear.