Three Bellmawr Men Charged in Auto Shop Arson

Police have charged three Bellmawr men in connection with the burglary and apparent cover-up fire of a Black Horse Pike auto shop earlier this month.

The arson fire at Performance Motors Automotive, located at 1106 N. Black Horse Pike, was reported at about 4 a.m. on Monday, April 16. The blaze badly damaged the business.

Gloucester Township Police Det. Sgt. James Schriver reported Thursday that one of the two men accused of actually burglarizing the business and participating in setting the cover-up fire made the 911 call to report the blaze.

The three men, including the alleged driver, who was not charged with burglary or arson, then stayed around to watch firefighters battle the destructive blaze from across the Pike, police said.

Mark Trigg, 20, of Beechwood Place, Bellmawr, reportedly made the 911 call. He gave a fictitious name to attach to his cell phone number when making the emergency call, then denied ever making the 911 call when contacted later on April 16 by a Camden County arson investigator.

Trigg gave his real name when he answered the call, though, and that was the break investigators apparently needed to solve the case.

A joint investigation by Gloucester Township Police, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office Arson Unit, the Chews Landing Fire Department Fire Marshal's Office and the Bellmawr Police Department resulted in the arrests of Trigg and fellow Bellmawr residents Cameron Semple, 21, Brandon Semple, 23, both of East Maple Avenue.

Bellmawr police were familiar with Trigg from prior run-ins, Schriver said.

After being brought in for questioning by Gloucester Township and Bellmawr detectives, Trigg admitted he did report the fire after observing smoke coming from the building while driving past.

Investigators have accused Trigg and Cameron Semple of breaking into the building and then conspiring to set fire to it to cover their tracks. Their target was a soda machine inside the auto shop's office, according to Schriver.

Brandon Semple allegedly drove the two other men along the Black Horse Pike that night to look for vending machines to burglarize. Trigg reportedly had a key that would open certain vending machines.

Trigg and Cameron Semple allegedly entered the Performance Motors office by removing an air-conditioning unit from a window.

When the key did not work on the soda machine, they began searching for other items to steal, but one of them triggered an audible alarm while opening a door.

The alarm, which was not linked to the police department or a private security firm but nonetheless spooked the burglars, sent the two men on their way.

After washing their hands at a nearby Wawa, the men returned to Performance Motors, where they did not see a police presence. Trigg again entered the business and began attempting to wipe away fingerprints, but decided to use a pack of matches to set the fire after growing nervous they were going to be busted for the burglary, Schriver said.

Trigg and Cameron Semple have been charged with second-degree burglary, arson and conspiracy, as well as fourth-degree tampering with evidence. Both men were lodged in Camden County Jail on $75,000 bail.

Brandon Semple was charged with conspiracy to commit burglary. He was released on his own recognizance.