Yavapai County man convicted of burning down his home to avoid foreclosure

PHOENIX — A Yavapai County man was found guilty of burning down his own home to avoid a foreclosure, officials announced Wednesday.

The case dates back almost three years to October 2022.

That is when a home owned by Cheston Louis Trammel in Rimrock, northeast of Camp Verde, burned to the ground.

After the fire, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) opened an investigation and detectives discovered the fire had been intentionally set.

Why did Yavapai County man burn down his home?

YCSO later found that Trammel was close to losing the home in a foreclosure, had talked about making an insurance claim and said that he would rather burn the home down before losing it to a bank.

Trammel, who is now 46 years old, was ultimately convicted of arson of an occupied structure and fraudulent schemes on Aug. 1.

“Crimes such as these have no place in Yavapai County,” Dennis McGrane, the Yavapai County attorney, said in a media release. “Let me be clear: Anyone engaging in dangerous or fraudulent conduct such as this will be vigorously prosecuted in Yavapai County.”

Trammel’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 29. He faces a maximum of 15 1/2 years in prison.

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