Grand Jury Issues Indictment in White Elk Fire

A man has been indicted in connection with the Dec. 26 , on charges including first-degree arson, first-degree burglary, threatening arson and first-degree malicious burning.

Barry Lee Murphy, 48, who police said was homeless, was charged last month in connection with at the motel on Washington Boulevard in Elkridge.

staff called police before 9 p.m. on Dec. 26 because Murphy was on their property and he had been banned previously from the premises, according to officials. Responding to the trespassing complaint, police said they noticed smoke coming from a room at the .

, Murphy had been in an altercation with the woman who lived in the unit earlier that day. Murphy was arrested at 2 a.m. on Dec. 27 on charges of second-degree assault related to the altercation.

On Dec. 29, with arson, burglary and malicious burning and instituted a detainer to keep him in jail. Murphy is currently being held at the Howard County Detention Center.

His bail is set at $82,500.