Department of Public Safety On July 16, 2019 at 9:51 AM the Montpelier Fire Department responded to a report of a house fire at 16 Garand Hill in Middlesex. Upon arrival, fire personnel found the fire had been extinguished by one of the home owners. Cynthia Liepmann heard some noises in her garage at about 9:45 AM from inside her house. She went into the garage to find someone had spread an accelerant on the floor and other items in the garage and lit them on fire. The Vermont State Police were called to the scene as well as the Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit. It was determined someone had entered the garage through the open bay doors, dispersed an accelerant on the cement floor, pieces of wooden furniture, cardboard boxes and other items and lit them on fire.
Person of interest photo from Department of Public Safety.
Cynthia Liepmann was able to put the fire out by hitting the flames with a rake before the blaze got out of control. No suspicious vehicles or people were noticed in the area around the time of the fire in this rural and secluded area. Nobody was injured in the fire and damage was limited to some minor soot deposits due to the quick actions of the homeowner. This fire is under investigation and is classified as an arson.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Det. Sgt. Todd Ambroz at the Middlesex Barracks at 802-229-9191 or by contacting the Vermont Arson Tip Award Program(VATAP) hotline at 1-800-32-ARSON(1-800-322-7766). The VATAP will pay up to a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
UPDATE: On July 16, 2019 at approximately 9:30 AM a male wearing dark clothing with a dark colored back pack was seen walking on Terrace Street in Montpelier towards Middlesex and East Hill Road. Terrace Street turns into East Hill Road once in the Town of Middlesex. A few minutes after 10:00 AM this same male was seen walking back towards Montpelier on Terrace Street while the Montpelier Fire Department was responding to the fire on Garand Hill. The young white male was given a ride by a passing motorist and is described as late teens to early twenties, was wearing dark pants and shirt, had on a baseball hat, visible tattoos on his left hand, and a stud earring (described as glassy, diamond-like) in his left ear. This male was dropped off near the information booth on State Street in Montpelier, near Christ Episcopal Church, between 10:10 and 10:30 AM. At this time this male is considered a person of interest only. Anyone with information on who this young male is, or how to contact him, is asked to contact Det. Sgt. Todd Ambroz of the Vermont State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit.
Updated on: July30, 2019 10:30 AM
The individual shown in this photograph is a person of interest in the aforementioned fire investigation. Anyone with information regarding the identify of him is asked to please contact Detective Sergeant Todd Ambroz at the State Police Barracks in Middlesex at 802-229-9191 or Williston at 802-878-7111, via email at [email protected] or by calling 1-800-322-7766 (1-800-32-ARSON). This male is wearing a backpack, flat brim baseball hat, has tattoos on his left hand, left wrist and also what appears to be small tattoos on the left side of his neck.
Detective Sergeant Todd Ambroz
Department of Public Safety Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit
Vermont State Police, A-Troop West
2777 St. George Road
Williston, VT 05495
Office 802-878-7111