Video camera catches alleged arsonist pair on second attempt, Chambersburg police say

The video camera set up by a resident after someone tried to start a fire outside the home helped police identify a suspect after their second attempt resulted in flames. 

Tracy Dodd and Michael McClure, both of Chambersburg, are accused of working together to set the fire at a home in the borough last Friday. Both are in Franklin County Jail, unable to post $150,000 each, according to court records. 

Dodd, 42, is charged with aggravated arson and risking catastrophe, and McClure, 20, is charged with conspiracy to engage with aggravated arson and attempted aggravated arson, court records show. All are felonies. McClure is also charged with an ungraded count of criminal solicitation - aggravated arson. 

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Chambersburg police were dispatched just after 9 p.m. April 26 to a fire at a home in the 1000 block of South Fourth Street, where a 46-year-old woman and a 20-year-old woman with special needs live, according to court documents. The fire was contained to a wheelchair ramp that led to a back door. Firefighters extinguished it. 

Police had responded to the home for a similar incident the day before. There was no fire, but police did find multiple bottles filled with fluid and a burnt rag stuffed inside in the immediate area. 

In response to that incident, the resident installed a "'game' camera" with video covering the area of the rear door and ramp area, documents state. 

The video recording on the device following the second incident showed a white male, wearing glasses and a hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, approach the area and pour two containers of lighter fluid on the ramp and light it with a match, then flee. 

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Police released images from the video and sought the public's help to identify him. 

During an interview, McClure allegedly confessed to his role in both incidents. He said he was with Dodd on April 24 when she allegedly attempted to start a fire at the same home. The next time, she dropped him off at the home and asked him to set the fire, then picked him up once it was set. 

Both suspects' preliminary hearings are scheduled for 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, May 7 in Franklin County Central Court.