EFFIE MAN ARRESTED FOR DECEMBER TRAILER FIRE

AVOYELLES PARISH (June 19, 2019)- An Effie man has been arrested for setting fire to a neighbor’s trailer that he also burglarized back in December.

Larry McNeal Jr., 43, was booked into the Avoyelles Parish Jail on Tuesday, June 18, on one count of Simple Arson. McNeal faces additional charges from the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office.

In the morning hours of December 28, a trailer fire was reported in the 700 block of Highway 1197 in Effie.

The A.P.S.O. contacted State Fire Marshal deputies to investigate the origin and cause of the fire.

Investigators located minor damage in the home, but determined the fire began in a bedroom and was intentionally set.

SFM deputies learned from the trailer’s tenant that several items were also missing from the home.

Eyewitness statements placed McNeal coming from behind the trailer just moments before smoke was seen coming from it, leading to McNeal being identified as a suspect in the case.

McNeal was located by APSO deputies on June 18th and taken into custody for their charges and the SFM’s arson charge. McNeal had previously been arrested by APSO deputies in connection to the case after being found in possession of the missing items from the burned trailer.