Ex-Va. volunteer firefighters accused of arson

HARRISONBURG — A Rockingham County grand jury will consider arson charges against two former New Market volunteer firefighters accused of setting several fires.

Twenty-year-old Ryan John Frank Sullivan of New Market faces three felony arson counts, while 18-year-old Michael Allen Bell of Quicksburg faces two counts.

Both men waived their rights to preliminary hearings Wednesday in Rockingham County General District Court. Defense attorneys told the judge that Sullivan and Bell wanted the case to go to the grand jury.

Police say the men set fire to more than half a dozen abandoned structures in the New Market area while serving as volunteer firefighters.

Sullivan and Bell also face arson and conspiracy charges in Shenandoah County.