NICHOLASVILLE — Two men were charged Wednesday night with arson in connection with the Feb. 14 fire that destroyed a vacant apartment building, Nicholasville police said.
The fire was intentionally set by Thomas Aaron Gilbert, 29, of Nicholasville, police said in a release. Police said the owner of the building, Terry Rhodes Carter, 64, of Nicholasville had agreed that Gilbert would share a portion of the insurance money that Carter stood to gain by having the building burned.
Carter was charged with complicity to second-degree arson, a felony punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison. Gilbert was charged with third-degree arson, a felony punishable by one to five years in prison.
No one was hurt in the blaze but the fire was suspicious to investigators because the building had no electricity. The12-unit building at 306 Edgewood Drive in Nicholasville had been recently condemned by authorities and its occupants had been ordered to vacate. The building was a total loss, and has since been demolished.
Nicholasville police said the arrests were the result of a tip given by a person in response to a reward for information offered by the insurance company. The tip confirmed critical information for investigators with the Nicholasville Arson Task Force.
Both men were lodged in the Jessamine County jail.
Greg Kocher covers Jessamine County for the Herald-Leader. Reach him in the Nicholasville bureau at (859) 885-5775.
years and years ago someone threw a molly top through a trailer window, I am almost sure that the business owner of the trailer park had it done as a tax write off since he also owned a gas station, especially since he had several major size air conditioner units stored in it that would have racked up to some dollars, he was never suspected
In addition to arson, these men should be charged with endangering the welfare and safety of the first responders (firefighters, police) who responded to this fire. This man was set to sell this building a few days later. Granted, it would have been at auction, and he would have made alot less, but he would not have taken a loss. I hope he receives the maximum penalty and has time to ponder if greed was worth it.
Heather, You should really speak on what you know not what you think… No one was in the building for months and the firefighters never entered the building. There is no want and endangering anything…
You know nothing about Terry and this is alleged and not been proven…Let the court system, lawyers and investigators to the sentencing not just some random person whom thinks they know it all…
And the apartment was being foreclosed on there was nothing to gain…
Personally I believe that everyone IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT THAT THEY ARE GUILTY SO unless you a judge or GOD himself stop jugdging what you aren’t 100% about.
Nik wrote:
\”There is no want and endangering anything…\”
First of all, since your grammar is quite lacking, I will infer from what you wrote you meant that there was no wanton endangerment perhaps?
Yes, I DO KNOW, as I know several Nicholasville firefighters and police officers, that the building was not entered. Of course not - the building was in utter disrepair and in shambles, thus it was condemned. It does not take entering a burning building to be injured while fighting a fire. So you should get your facts straight.
I suppose it is coincidence that the tip the arson team received matches evidence found at the scene? Sounds like a conspiracy to me. HA!
Sounds like to me you may know this poor excuse of a man and/or his accomplice. Maybe you should learn to pick better friends.
To the girl named Heather who has so graciously shared her opinion, and may I stress OPINION…
Honey, You haven’t a clue! Just because you get on the internet and claim you know everything this story entails doesn’t mean you’re correct! You also know that assuming makes you appear very uneducated, don’t you? If you don’t agree with someone why try to belittle them? The only thing that does is make others who read your post laugh at the girl posting nonsense in retaliation to something she obliviously knows very little about. For future reference MAYBE YOU SHOULD LEARN TO PICK BETTER WORDS. For someone who has no problem disparaging another users grammar, I would suggest you work on your rambling, as well as proper sentence structure. Your comment is composed quite poorly. I bet you’re a graduate of Jessameine Co., aren’t you? I hate to judge and I am aware I’m being a bit hypocritical, but Heather, you really need work on yourself before you judge others.