Two Warren County men are being held without bail in the Warren County Jail on multiple charges involving the theft and fire of a 1982 Chevrolet Corvette and a fire that damaged a utility van next to the car.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said John Caleb Wallace, 22, and Michael Earl Pryor, 20, who gave his address as 531 Tiffin Town Road, are each charged with motor vehicle theft and malicious mischief. He said both men were being held without bail because each was out on bond for prior crimes.

Wallace was arrested Nov. 17 for grand larceny, and Pryor was previously arrested for burglary. Both had recently been released from jail, Pace said.

He said a motorist passing by a home at 3663 Freetown Road about 10:30 p.m. Friday saw the fire and called 911. Pace said sheriff’s deputies and Culkin volunteer firefighters arrive to find the Corvette and the van on fire, adding the motorist was at the scene when they arrived using a garden hose to keep the flames from threatening a nearby garage.

He said Wallace had been staying at the home with the family since he was released from jail, but was not allowed to be on the property when the family was gone. He said the family was gone from the house for the weekend, and Wallace and Pryor went to the home and drove off in the Corvette.

Pace said the pair returned to the property and were trying to fill the car’s gas tank using gas cans on the property when something ignited the gas and it caught fire, adding the heat from the car fire caused the van fire.

The two men left the property, but returned about the same time deputies and firefighters arrived and they were arrested.

In other crime news, a Monroe, La., man accused of robbing an elderly man was held without bail Friday.

Christopher Hardwell, 32, of Monroe, was arrested in Ouachita Parish and charged with strong-arm robbery, Vicksburg police Capt. Sandra Williams said.

He was brought back to Vicksburg Thursday.

Hardwell is accused of robbing an older man in the bathroom of a casino here on Nov. 8.

During the robbery the victim fell and hit his head knocking him unconscious, Williams said, and he was found in the bathroom later. Investigators used video surveillance to identify Hardwell.

His initial appendence was scheduled for Friday.
Homeowner finds person in home

A Vicksburg resident came home to find someone in their house Thursday.

At 4:30 p.m. Thursday a resident arrived at their home on the 3600 block of Washington Street and discovered it had been forcibly broken into, Williams said. The person was still in the home and ran out upon the resident’s arrival, she said. Nothing was reported missing.
Two burglaries reported in city

A phone, bags and tools were missing Friday following two burglaries reported Thursday in Vicksburg.

At 1:30 p.m. Thursday, a backpack and a cell phone were reported stolen from a 2009 Kia, Williams said.

A purse, assorted tools, a weed eater, blower and water waiters were reported stolen from a 2013 Yukon and from the carport it was parked in on the 300 block of Marian Lane, Williams said.