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Written by A. Smith
Published October 31, 2022 @ 10:17 AM ET
Richmond County (October 16, 2022) – An Augusta man has been arrested on charges of arson and aggravated animal cruelty for allegedly setting his girlfriend’s house on fire while intentionally trapping her dog inside.
Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call at 720 Done Roven Road in reference to trouble with a subject, Jason Lee Madden, 41. The Augusta Fire Department was already on the scene at an address directly across the street. It was quickly determined that the two incidents were related.
Officers spoke with the victim, who stated Madden is her live-in boyfriend. The pair got into an argument the day before, and she was returning home to talk to him after he made threats of burning down the house and killing himself.
The victim said she called Georgia Crisis on her phone to try to get Madden help. While on the phone, her neighbor told her that her house was on fire.
The victim stated that she could not get to her house to try to put out the fire because Madden had blocked her in and would not let her past him. She stated that her dog, “Buddy,” was inside, and Madden left the door shut so he could not escape. “Buddy” died in the fire.
A witness on the scene said she saw Madden walk around the back of the residence, then come back to the front of the home and tell the victim, “I hope you enjoy your day,” before driving off. The witness saw the flames through the window and ran to tell her neighbor, who was still on the phone with the crisis center.
Madden fled the scene before the police arrived. He was located a short time later in a nearby wooded area.
Augusta Fire Department conducted an investigation and ruled the fire as intentionally set.
As a result, Madden was arrested and charged with arson in the first degree and aggravated cruelty to animals. He was transported to the Charles B. Webster Detention Center for booking. This case is currently pending in court.
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
On Sunday, October 16th, 2022, at approximately 1138 hours, Deputy Jason Broome (B512/7113) responded to [700 BLOCK] Done Roven Road in reference to trouble with a subject.
At approximately 1146 hours, Augusta Fire Department responded to [700 BLOCK] Done Roven Road, directly across the street, in reference to a structure fire (Reference AFD case #22-19563).
Upon Deputy Broome’s arrival, he discovered that the calls were related and that the fire was possibly intentionally set.
At approximately 1218 hours, I, Deputy Brandon Kennedy (B497/8111), arrived on scene and I spoke with the victim, [VICTIM #1]. She stated that she had left the residence on the previous date due to a prior altercation with the arrested, Jason Madden, her live-in boyfriend. She stated that, on this date, at approximately 1100 hours, she returned to the residence to speak with Madden, but she did not go into the residence.
[VICTIM #1] stated that Madden had been making remarks about burning the house down and killing himself, so she contacted Georgia Crisis. She stated that while she was speaking with Georgia Crisis, her neighbor advised her that her residence was on fire. [VICTIM #1] stated that Madden then blocked her in so she could not get to the residence to put the fire out. She further stated that her dog “Buddy” was inside the residence at the time and that Madden did not leave the door open for him to escape which directly led to the dog’s death.
I spoke with the witness, [WITNESS #1], who stated that she observed [VICTIM #1] arrive at the residence at [700 BLOCK] Done Roven Road just before she ([VICTIM #1]) came over to her residence at [700 BLOCK] Done Roven Road. She stated that as [VICTIM #1] was speaking with Georgia Crisis, and Madden began walking down her driveway towards [VICTIM #1]. [WITNESS #1] stated that she told Madden to leave her yard and he did. [WITNESS #1] stated that she observed Madden go to the rear of the residence at [700 BLOCK] Done Roven Road and then drive around front shortly after in [VICTIM #1]’s black 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer.
[WITNESS #1] stated that Madden stopped in front of her residence and stated something to the effect of “I hope you enjoy your day” before driving away in the vehicle. [WITNESS #1] stated that after Madden left the scene, she looked over and observed flames through the window of [VICTIM #1]’s residence. She stated that she told [VICTIM #1], and as [VICTIM #1] attempted to leave her ([WITNESS #1]) driveway to go to her ([VICTIM #1]) residence in an attempt to extinguish the fire, Madden drove up and blocked her in with the vehicle so she could not get to her residence.
Madden was not at the scene at the time of deputies’ arrival, but he was located in a wooded area behind [2300 BLOCK] Mims Road a short time later. [VICTIM #1]’s vehicle was located on Peach Orchard Road near Mims Road and it was turned over to [REDACTED] at her request.
Augusta Fire Department Captain [REDACTED] (INV 1) responded to the fire scene. Based on his investigation, the fire was determined to be intentionally set.
Madden was arrested and transported to CBWDC for booking on the offenses of Arson-1st Degree OCGA 16-7-60 and Aggravated Cruelty To Animals OCGA 16-12-4. CID Sgt. Timothy Owen (B29) was notified, and he approved the warrants. Warrants were obtained for the offenses. The warrants were printed in Records (Winston/D056).
[End of Narrative]