Man arrested for arson claims innocence

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - A 24-year-old man accused of setting fire to his Virginia Beach home claims he is innocent.

In a jailhouse interview with WAVY.com Tuesday, Tyler Bremer said, "I've got eyewitnesses that put me back in Hampton that morning when the police officer came on scene.'

Virginia Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Riley says firefighters responded shortly after 7 a.m. Oct. 1 to a home in the 3200 block of Northgate Drive. Riley says a chocolate lab and a terrier mix were rescued out of locked crates and were turned over to Virginia Beach Animal Control. They are recuperating at an animal shelter.

Riley says numerous separate fires on the second floor of the home led them to investigate this case as arson.

Fire damage was approximately $110,000, according to Riley.

Bremer, of the same address as the fire, was arrested on a charge of felony arson to an occupied dwelling and is being held behind bars without bond. Additional charges for animal cruelty are pending.

If you have any information on this crime, contact Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.