CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — A 19-year-old from Chesapeake facing arson charges in Stafford County has also been linked to multiple thefts involving cars in the area, the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office says.
Michael Bowling was arrested on Sunday, July 17, a day after firefighters responded to two vehicle fires in the Grafton Village area of Stafford County.
That Sunday, deputies and fire marshals were investigating a stolen vehicle in Grafton Village when Bowling was spotted and tracked down with help from a K-9. He was charged with two counts of arson by the Stafford County Fire Marshal’s Office and with grand larceny and destroying a vehicle by the sheriff’s office.
Detectives say that since his arrest they’ve connected him to six other incidents in the Grafton Village area: four larcenies from vehicles and two vehicle thefts. Bank cards, house keys and a 14-karat diamond ring were recovered and returned to their owners, deputies say.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the sheriff’s office says Bowling will also be charged with three counts of felony grand larceny and nine counts of misdemeanor tampering with vehicles.
He’s being held at Rappahannock Regional Jail without bond.