An Englewood woman was charged with arson and insurance fraud for allegedly setting fire to her Nissan Murano last weekend, Detective Capt. Tim Torell told Patch.
Police charged Katima McCullough, 32, with one count of second degree arson and one count of third degree insurance fraud on Sept. 13 in relation to the vehicle fire incident which took place on Sept. 8.
According to Torell, police and firefighters found the smoldering 2007 Nissan Murano unattended upon arriving at the scene on Elmore Avenue that Sunday afternoon. He said Englewood firefighters immediately saw signs of an intentional setting.
A trace of the vehicle's license plate led detectives to McCullough who claimed to not have any knowledge of the fire and made an insurance claim, said Torell. Through an investigation with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Arson Squad it was found McCullough was behind in car payments and dodging repossession, said police.
Surveillance video from a nearby building showed McCullough fleeing the fire scene with a male they later identified as McCullough's 33-year-old-boyfriend, Armar Moore.
Moore was charged with one count of fourth degree failing to report a fire and one count of third degree hindering the apprehension of another.
McCullough's bail was set at $35,000 and Moore's at $5,000. They were said to be in city lock-up as of last Friday, according to Torell.
"Every time you or me write out a check to our car insurance company, to an extent, we pay for false claims like this one. The investigators on this case did a great job,” Torell said.
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