Second Person Arrested in Connection with Barn Fires
Published: Friday, December 10, 2021
Two suspects, both characterized as a "danger to the community," have been arrested and charged in connection with a series of suspicious barn fires in Elkhart County. Last week, the Elkhart County Sheriff's office announced the arrests of Joseph D. Hershberger, 41, and Sherry L. Thomas, 32, both with the same Nappanee address. Both Hershberger and Thomas are scheduled to make an initial court appearance on Thursday afternoon.
Hershberger and Thomas have each been charged with eight counts of arson, a Level 4 felony, and one count of attempted contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a Level 3 felony.
Bond was set at $500,000 for Hershberger and $250,000 for Thomas. As of Tuesday morning, both were still incarcerated in the Elkhart County Correctional Complex. Formal charges have been filed in Elkhart Superior Court 2.
In their investigation of the barn fires, Sheriff's detectives were able to obtain a search warrant to obtain cell phone data for each fire location. This information, known as a Geofence, showed that one phone matched the time and general location for all of the fires, except one on July 28. The investigation revealed that this phone belonged to Thomas.
In addition, investigators obtained security video from local gas stations showing Hershberger purchasing a little over a half gallon of gasoline. Investigators believe he used the gasoline to start two fires on Oct. 1 in Benton Twp. Thomas' cell phone data also places her at the same gas station at the same time as Hershberger.
Security video obtained from a second gas station later that same day showed both Thomas and Hershberger along with Thomas' 11-year-old child.
The eight counts of arson involve barn fires occurring on the following dates (property owner's name listed in parentheses): April 13 (John Smith), April 27 (Dennis Culp), May 3 (Gary Eby), July 28 (Jacob Yoder), Sept. 18 (Nelson Martin), Sept. 19 (Daniel Imhoff), and Oct. 1 (Bradley Bobeck and Garry Weybright).
A total of 12 suspicious barn fires have been reported in Elkhart, St. Joseph (Ind.) and Kosciusko counties since mid-April.
In the probable cause document filed last Wednesday in Elkhart Superior Court 1, Detective Robert Smith stated that both Hershberger and Thomas were advised of their rights and both waived them. Thomas admitted she was present with Hershberger when he started the barn fires on April 13, July 28 and both Oct. 1 fires. According to the court filing, Thomas also stated that Hershberger tried to convince her 11-year-old to start one of the fires on Oct. 1.
According to the court filing, Hershberger admitted to starting multiple barn fires in Elkhart County and that he and Thomas would take turns pouring gasoline and setting the barns ablaze.
Hershberger has a long criminal record that includes resisting arrest, fraud, forgery and neglect of a dependent. He was on probation at the time of the alleged arsons.
Thomas also has a criminal record that includes a misdemeanor conviction for driving with a suspended license and leaving the scene of an accident. She also has one pending charge of domestic battery.
In the court filing, Smith described both suspects as a "danger to the community."
Hershberger and Thomas are scheduled to appear before Magistrate Eric Ditton this Thursday at 1 p.m. The hearing will be held remotely from the county jail. The public will not be allowed to enter the court room for this hearing, but interested persons can watch online at https://public.courts.in.gov/incs#/. The hearing time is approximate, as several proceedings are scheduled at the same time.
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