GASTONIA, N.C. — Gastonia Police Department detectives charged Marvin Durell McCaskill, 35, of Gastonia, Tuesday with attempted murder and arson-related offenses for a fire on Aug. 4 at Tony’s Ice Cream.
The Gastonia Fire Department said smoke was showing when crews responded to the fire at 5:45 a.m. at the business on East Franklin Boulevard.
An employee was inside at the time and wasn’t injured.
The fire marshal said the fire was “incendiary in nature” and contacted GPD to start a criminal investigation.
McCaskill is accused of breaking a window and throwing a flammable accelerant inside the broken window before he fled.
McCaskill’s DNA was recovered from the crime scene, police said.
Investigators got a search warrant so DNA could be taken directly from McCaskill and sent to an independent lab. The DNA was a verified on Monday as a 100% match.
McCaskill was arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder, burning certain buildings, possession of a weapon of mass death and destruction, attempted malicious damage of occupied property by use of explosive or incendiary and felony breaking and/or entering.
McCaskill was arrested without incident Tuesday afternoon.
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