NASHVILLE, Tenn.--A captain with the Metro Nashville Fire Department was arrested for arson and insurance fraud.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says the agency and Tennessee Fire Investigation Service launched an investigation into Jeffrey Neely on Sept. 7.
The investigation surrounded a fire two days prior which took place at Neely's home located at 1055 White Bluff Road. It was determined the 49-year-old man intentionally set the fire to his home.
Last week, a Grand Jury returned an indictment for arson and insurance fraud, leading to his arrest on Tuesday. Neely is being held at the Dickson County Jail on $50,000 bond.
"The Nashville Fire Department was made aware of the indictment of Captain Jeffrey Neely on Wednesday afternoon," the NFD said in a statement. "Per departmental policy, NFD administration placed Captain Neely on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. We will have no further comment about the criminal investigation at this time."
Here some info on the defendant:
Intro
- Works at Nashville Fire Department
- Went to John Overton High School
- Lives in White Bluff, Tennessee
- From Nashville, Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A captain with the Nashville Fire Department was indicted and arrested on charges of arson and insurance fraud.
Jeffrey Neely was indicted on Oct. 18 and booked into the into the Dickson County jail on Oct. 24, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. (Photo: WKRN)
The TBI began investigating two days after a Sept. 5 fire at Neely’s home on White Bluff Road in White Bluff, Tennessee. At the time, it was reported the fire began while he was cooking bacon.
According to a press release, an investigation revealed the fire was intentionally set by the 48-year-old.
The fire department’s spokesman, Joseph Pleasant, issued the following statement after Neely’s arrest was announced:
The Nashville Fire Department was made aware of the indictment of Captain Jeffrey Neely on Wednesday afternoon. Per departmental policy, NFD administration placed Captain Neely on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. We will have no further comment about the criminal investigation at this time.
Neely remains in jail on $50,000 bond. No further details have been released at this time.
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Fire at Dickson County home rekindles Tuesday
WKRN web staff
September 6, 2016
(Photo: WKRN)
WHITE BLUFF, Tenn. (WKRN) – A Nashville Fire Department captain’s home caught fire Monday and reignited Tuesday.
The Dickson County home caught fire when Capt. Jeff Neely, a 26-year veteran of the fire department, was cooking bacon for his dogs around 10 a.m.
The captain had a fire extinguisher in the kitchen but it was located underneath the fire and he could not reach it.
He tried to put the fire out with a hose before fire crews arrived but could not contain the flames.
Crews battled the flames for several hours Monday, eventually extinguishing it.
A passerby noticed smoke and flames Tuesday around 5:20 a.m. in the same place and called 911.
Fire crews extinguished the rekindled fire.