A juvenile has been charged with aggravated arson after a structure fire tore through a residential facility on Sarna Drive in La Vergne this week, with investigators saying the blaze was deliberately set following grievances the juvenile had with facility staff. Other residents had already gotten out of the home before the fire broke out, police said.
La Vergne police and the La Vergne Fire Department responded to the reported structure fire on October 26, according to the La Vergne Police Department. Detectives Cline and Rhea led a follow-up investigation alongside Fire Marshal C. Brinkley, and police credited officers, the fire department, and Brinkley's office with a coordinated response and investigative effort that quickly led to charges. As reported by WSMV, police and the La Vergne Fire Department responded to the fire the same day.
Investigators Say Evidence Pointed to a Deliberate Fire
Investigators determined the fire was intentionally set, per the station's report. The investigation included interviews, surveillance footage, photographs, and physical evidence collected at the scene, according to the same account. That evidence led detectives to conclude the juvenile started the fire inside the residence after grievances involving facility staff.
Police say other residents had exited the home before the fire started, meaning no one remained inside the building when it ignited. The juvenile has since been charged with aggravated arson, though the allegation remains just that — an allegation — and the juvenile is presumed innocent unless and until a juvenile court finds otherwise.
How Juvenile Arson Cases Move Through Tennessee Courts
Aggravated arson cases involving minors in Tennessee typically proceed through juvenile court rather than criminal court unless a transfer hearing moves the case. Under Tennessee's juvenile court rules, a case can still head toward an adjudicatory hearing even if parties agree to end a transfer hearing before it concludes, according to Tennessee's court system. Once a plea is accepted in juvenile court, double jeopardy attaches, meaning the matter cannot later be shifted to criminal court.
The La Vergne case follows a separate incident in Nashville in which a man was arrested for attempted aggravated arson after he reportedly threatened to burn down a North Nashville residence and then returned with a bottle of gasoline, according to WKRN. That case is unrelated to the Sarna Drive fire but reflects the same aggravated arson statute now applied to the La Vergne juvenile.
Details that remain unknown include the juvenile's identity, the exact facility name or address on Sarna Drive, whether anyone was injured, the extent of property damage, and the next steps in the court process. La Vergne police have not released additional information beyond confirming the charge and the circumstances investigators say led to it.
