Berryville resident, 29 year-old Jennifer Tinnin, was arrested on Tuesday, Aug. 13, on a bench warrant for multiple charges including arson and attempted capital murder. These incidents, which occurred in late July, are detailed in an affidavit filed in the Carroll County Eastern District Court on Aug. 9.
According to the filing, on the evening of July 28, Tinnin was spotted walking suspiciously near 206 Pritchard Street in Berryville — she was walking quickly, carrying her small dog, and turned to avoid facing a patrolling officer as he passed by.
Minutes later, the officer was dispatched to 206 Pritchard for a structure fire. Upon arrival, the officer saw the resident of the home, Jason Granger, on the front porch with another individual who was holding him up by the arm and assisting him out of the residence as smoke billowed out behind them. He also observed fire inside the house and heard explosions occurring in the house.
Granger explained to the officer that Tinnin was living as his roommate and that she had become upset with him and ignited a box of fireworks in the home. The resulting fire severely damaged the structure before firefighters could extinguish it. The remains of fireworks were later recovered from the rubble.
According to the affidavit, Granger has medical conditions and physical limitations which could have prohibited him from escaping the fire without assistance.
Tinnin’s boyfriend, Dillion Carpenter, is currently incarcerated in the Carroll County Jail. Phone conversations between the couple which occurred during his incarceration have been recorded.
The affidavit states that the content of the conversations indicate that Tinnin made advance plans to set the house on fire, that she was aware that Granger could be unable to escape the fire on his own and that the couple seemed to find the incident to be “funny” — laughing as they discussed it.
The couple are also named in an affidavit filed on June 17, in Carroll County Eastern District Court. This earlier affidavit describes a June 12 incident in which the couple is accused of beating a man with a baseball bat in the bedroom of the residence on Prichard Street, and of threatening to kill him if he told anyone. In the earlier affidavit, Tinning is being charged with battery and terroristic threatening. Tinnin is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 9.
