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.
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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.