Arundel Digest

Candle sparks fire that destroys home

PASADENA - A tipped-over candle sparked a blaze that destroyed a Pasadena home last night, county Fire Department officials said.

Firefighters were called to 89 Johnson Road at about 8:30 p.m., said Battalion Chief Matthew Tobia, a county Fire Department spokesman.

When crews arrived, they saw flames coming from the front of the wood-frame, single-family home.

It took 21 firefighters about 30 minutes to get the blaze under control.

A father and son, both adults, escaped the home before firefighters arrived, Tobia said. No injuries were reported.

Investigators said the fire was caused by a lit candle that tipped over inside the home.

Damages to the home and its contents are estimated at $225,000. The American Red Cross is assisting the family.

Jail sought for man awaiting hearing

ANNAPOLIS - Prosecutors and probation agents want a judge to jail a 21-year-old man convicted last year of helping his mother dispose of a dead body.

A judge yesterday ordered the release of Matthew Haarhoff from the Jennifer Road Detention Center in Parole pending a January hearing to determine if he violated the conditions of his probation.

Haarhoff, the youngest son of Cynthia McKay, and his older brother, Christopher Haarhoff, were convicted last year of accessory after the fact in the Feb. 21, 2006, slaying of 50-year-old Anthony Fertitta.

Police said McKay killed him and her sons helped burn the body.

According to court records filed last month, Haarhoff didn't tell probation agents he moved from Baltimore to Salisbury or inform them he was currently unemployed - potential violations of his probation.

A family friend told probation agents Haarhoff tried to blow up her house in Salisbury, but no charges were filed.

If convicted of violating his probation, Haarhoff could face 18 months in jail.

Judge orders county to pay legal fees

BALTIMORE - A federal judge has ordered the county to pay more than $146,000 in attorney fees to settle a 2008 lawsuit filed by two volunteer firefighters who claimed they were molested by the former president of the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company.

The attorney fees are on top of $175,000 the county agreed to pay the men in May to avoid further litigation.

County and fire company officials have denied any wrongdoing, but an attorney for the victims - who were 16 and 19 when the abuse allegedly began in 2005 - pointed out that the judge on Oct. 20 entered the judgments against the county and the company.

All of the money to pay the settlement and the attorney fees will come out of the county's self-insurance fund.

None of the money will come out of the coffers of the Odenton volunteers.

According to the lawsuit, the two volunteers claim Louis D'Camera - who committed suicide in July 2005, shortly after police caught him with a male prostitute - forced them to strip and sit on his lap while chiding them about their poor performance at the station and at school.

- From staff and wire reports