An Ashfork firefighter was arrested Friday on suspicion of being involved in multiple arson incidents, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.
The YCSO and the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office have been searching for an arsonist who set fires around the Ash Fork area over the past several months. Leads tracked by the YCSO eventually led to the discovery of Ash Fork firefighter Carson Nutter, 18.
A news release said clues from a small fire on Thursday linked the suspect to multiple recent blazes. YCSO and CCSO agents also linked eight separate arson incidents in Yavapai and Coconino counties since June 15, 2023.
In Yavapai County, there were two fires at a Yavapai County-owned cemetery and two at a mobile station in Ashfork. In Coconino County, two abandoned homes burned to the ground at Kaibab Estate West and two wildfires erupted on Forest Service Road.
The YCSO said in a statement that lawmakers said Natter had provided deceptive and false information during initial investigative hearings, adding to their suspicions.
Nutter was again interviewed by the YSSO and CCSO on Thursday night and admitted to being directly involved in at least seven of the past eight arson incidents, including three of the four fires in Yavapai County, the news release said.
In a confession, Nutter said his motives for setting the fire ranged from boredom, revenge against his former employer, to thrill-seeking, and setting fire to an abandoned house because it was “ugly,” according to a news release.
Nutter was placed in YCSO detention and charged with three counts of arson to a building or property, aggravated criminal damage (cemetery/destruction of burial goods), and five counts of false reporting to law enforcement for knowingly providing false information about a suspect to obstruct a criminal investigation.
The YCSO said in a release that the CCSO is expected to file further charges against Nutter for crimes committed in the county.
