Last night we told you about a weed and weapons bust at a house on Iguana Street Ext. That led to three arrests. Today that house is completely destroyed, having burned to the ground. The question now is whether it was burnt. Cherisse Halsall went looking for answers.
This was the house at 180 Iguana Street when the police made a bust of drugs, a weapon, and ammunition. They also arrested and charged three occupants for possession of drugs and unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
But 18 hours later that same house had been burnt down. A neighbour told us what he saw:
George Willoughby, Neighbor
"What I got to understand was that I was sleeping and my tenants woke me up and told me fire and so those ones told the lady to call the fire truck and that's how we outed the fire."
Cherisser Halsall:
"So now before the fire what had happened with the occupants of this house?"
George Willoughby, Neighbor
"Two police carried the young lady, they said they found weed and gun in the house."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Was your house in danger?"
George Willoughby, Neighbor
"Yes ma'am my house is close it was the heat and the flames that woke me up when I was sleeping and I got up frightened and excited, when I saw the fire I didn't know what to do."
Willoughby says firefighters were quick to respond but haven't been able to nail down the cause of the fire.
Cherisse Halsall:
"Do you think it's arson, that somebody burned the house?"
George Willoughby, Neighbor
"I think so, I think they burned it because when I woke up the entire house was up in flames and then the fireman they came and checked it and said it looks like a fire they started because they checked the wire and they said it's probably arson. They came back this morning and afterwards they left, they just came to take pictures and then they left."
"My neighbor, they, I've known them for over 20 add years they've lived right there, this is the second house that's burned down for them. So I'm sorry for them, how their house burned down but I can't help them, I can only sympathize with them."
And while for now, the fire remains a mystery, station supervisor, Kenneth Mortis tells us that a police camera perched on a nearby lamp post should have captured the incident. A review of its contents should confirm whether this fire was quote: "spontaneous or caused by some sort of mischief."
This afternoon one of the three occupants of the house, 20-year-old Keisha Panting pleaded guilty to possession of the weed, unlicensed gun, and ammunition.
She has since been sentenced to serve two years in prison for the unlicensed weapon, one year for the unlicensed ammunition, and another year for possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply. The sentences will run concurrently, so Panting will spend two years behind bars.
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