Man with alias of ‘Shaggy’ charged after allegedly setting mattress and tent on fire in Morgantown

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — A man has been charged with burning land in Morgantown after allegedly setting a tent and mattress on fire.

On Aug. 8, officers with the Morgantown Police Department were conducting a foot patrol in the area of Elk Street when they saw a fire “on the hillside below the Pleasant Street Bridge,” according to a criminal complaint.

After requesting the fire department to the scene, officers “checked the area to make sure no one was hurt due to the fire,” and witnesses “reported that they saw a male with the alias of ‘Shaggy’,” who was later identified as Dylan Brown, 26, of Morgantown, officers said.

One witness reported “hearing and seeing Brown yell, ‘Fire in the hole,’ while Brown ran away just before officers arrived”; later that evening, “the fire started back up again” and Brown was seen once again in the area, according to the complaint.

Officers located Brown, who had “black soot on his chest, hands, wrist and face,” on Spruce Street and read a Miranda statement, officers said. Officers also said they noticed Brown had “briars and other foliage” on him, “indicative of someone who had been running through the woods.”

According to the complaint, a tent and mattress had been burned and “there was a significant amount of foliage that was on fire” and had to be put out by the Morgantown Fire Department.

Brown has been charged with willfully, unlawfully and maliciously setting fire on lands. He is being held in North Central Regional Jail on $15,000 bond.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com.