A Crawford County man has been arrested on murder and arson charges in the death of a man whose body was found in the burned remains of a fire in rural Rudy on Monday.
Jeremy Brake, 37, of Rudy was being held Thursday in the Crawford County jail on charges of first-degree murder, arson, commission of a felony with a firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm, endangering the welfare of a minor, criminal mischief and tampering with physical evidence.
Crawford County sheriff's Chief Deputy Jimmy Damante said Brake was arrested Wednesday afternoon. He became a suspect when witnesses gave information that Brake was at the scene.
Damante wouldn't give details about what happened in the man's death. He said only that Brake and the dead man -- who had not been identified officially by the Arkansas medical examiner's office as of Thursday afternoon -- knew each other.
Damante said Brake surrendered at the sheriff's office after learning investigators were looking for him, but he was uncooperative when questioned.
Investigators with the sheriff's office and the Arkansas State Police continued to investigate the fire, which drew 20 firefighters from three fire companies to Ozark Road in rural Rudy before dawn Monday.
Damante said investigators were working to identify the cause and source of the fire Thursday.
The fire burned not only the house, District 4 Fire Chief Darren Langley said Monday, but ignited seven vehicles parked around the house and multiple propane tanks.
The burning vehicles and exploding fuel tanks forced firefighters to park fire equipment 350 feet from the house and made fighting the fire more dangerous, Langley said.