ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) –
A woman accused of setting multiple fires in downtown Asheville has pleaded guilty to arson-related charges and was sentenced this week to spend more than seven years in prison, the Buncombe County District Attorney’s office reported.
On Tuesday in Buncombe County Superior Court, Jennifer Danielle Baker, 39, pleaded guilty to first-degree arson and felony burning of an occupied commercial structure in connection with separate incidents in 2023 and early 2024, a press release said.
Jennifer Danielle Baker
According to the DA’s office, the first incident happened about 2:45 a.m. on March 8, 2023, when a fire started in a trash can and two plastic utility carts in the parking garage underneath the AC Hotel in the heart of downtown Asheville. There also was a smaller fire set in a stairwell leading from the lower parking deck to the hotel.
A second incident was reported about 9:15 p.m. on Jan. 8, 2024, at Altamont Village Apartments in the downtown area, where an item hanging on a door handle was ignited, causing damage to the door and surrounding hallway flooring before a resident extinguished the fire, the press release states. Residents were evacuated as smoke filled the hallway.
“On both occasions Police and Fire investigators identified Baker by reviewing surveillance video capturing the fires,” the press release states.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, following the guilty pleas Buncombe County Superior Court Judge Steve Warren sentenced Baker to serve an active term of 89 to 119 months in prison.