A 34-year-old Florissant man is facing seven felony charges after Warrensburg police say video recovered from his own cellphone showed him setting fire to a home while two dogs were trapped inside, killing them. Byron Caffey was initially arrested on suspicion of harassment following an Aug. 13 fire in the 1200 block of William Place, but prosecutors expanded the case dramatically once investigators cracked open his phone.
According to court records reported by the Warrensburg Star-Journal, police unlocked Caffey's phone on Sept. 4 using the passcode “63,” a number the paper's sourcing describes as tied to his alleged gang affiliations. Investigators say the phone contained footage recorded inside the residence during the fire, including video of a pillow being set alight. Caffey had reportedly refused to give officers his passcode during an Aug. 28 interrogation, according to the same court records.
The digital evidence appears to have transformed what began as a harassment case into a far more serious prosecution. As reported by KMZU, the Warrensburg Police Department first requested charges of burglary, arson, harassment and animal abuse after emergency crews responded to the blaze on the morning of Aug. 13. Caffey was held in the Johnson County Detention Center on a $25,000 bond covering only harassment before the fuller charging decision followed.
Seven Felony Counts Now on the Table
Court documents show Caffey was formally charged Sept. 8 with first-degree arson, burglary, armed criminal action, first-degree harassment, animal abuse, stealing, and driving while suspended, per the Star-Journal's review of the filings. That is a significant escalation from the initial harassment-only hold, and it followed prosecutors' analysis of the recovered phone footage.
A Missouri State Fire Marshal investigation cited in the same court records concluded the fire was arson, caused by an open flame applied to lightweight combustible materials with the help of an ignitable liquid accelerant spread across multiple upstairs locations. The heaviest fire damage was concentrated in the upstairs bedrooms, the records state. KMZU had earlier reported that the state fire marshal determined the fire was intentional, and that the residence itself was extensively damaged.
Two Dogs Died Trapped in a Children's Bedroom
The two dogs found dead inside the home died of smoke inhalation while trapped in their kennels, which were located in a children's bedroom, according to court filings cited by the Star-Journal. Fire investigators identified at least two points of origin for the fire inside that same bedroom, the filings state.
Court documents describe an alleged motive rooted in a personal dispute. The victim told investigators Caffey became enraged because she was in Warrensburg overnight for a celebration, which she said prompted threatening text messages from him and a 38-minute Facebook Live video he posted on Aug. 14 addressing her directly, according to the same court records reviewed by the paper. KMZU reported separately that the victim said she returned home to find smoke coming from the residence.
Locations in the Case
Cell phone location data placed Caffey in the St. Louis metropolitan area near Chesterfield around the time of the alleged harassment, the court records state. The case also involved the Warrensburg residence where the fire occurred.
The William Place block has seen public-safety trouble before. Warrensburg Police Department logs published by the Star-Journal show officers responded to the same block in February after a woman fired a shotgun at an apartment complex, sparking a localized fire and shattering windows.
What Missouri Law Says About the Charges
First-degree arson in Missouri is classified as a Class B felony carrying 5 to 15 years in prison, escalating to a Class A felony punishable by up to 30 years or life imprisonment if a person suffers serious physical injury or dies as a result, under Section 569.040 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri. Separately, animal abuse is one of the charges in this case.
The case echoes a recent federal prosecution involving another North St. Louis County resident. In August, federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Missouri secured a guilty plea from a 40-year-old Florissant man in an unrelated case for purchasing gasoline and setting multiple fires inside a Ferguson hotel while guests slept, Hoodline reported. Caffey remains held pending formal charges at the Johnson County Detention Center, according to KMZU.
