Crime & Safety
Essex Crime: Man Charged with Attempted Arson
The following information was supplied by the Baltimore County Police Department. In cases where a criminal charge is noted, the information provided does not indicate a conviction.
A 31-year-old Essex man was arrested after attempting to blow up his former business partner’s garage.
Dennis McKissick, of the 2200 block of Hawthorne Road, was charged Sunday with possession of a destructive device and threat of arson.
Police arrested McKissick after pulling him over on Eastern Avenue near Earls Road.
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McKissick’s mother contacted police around midnight and said her son was intoxicated and was heading to “blow up” the garage of a man her son had done work for but did not believe paid him properly, according to police reports.
Police said officers pulled McKissick over and smelled gasoline. Officers then discovered several beer bottles, which they believed were going to be used as Molotov cocktails.
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According to police, McKissick told them his former business partner owed him a lot of money and that he wanted to burn his garage down because “that is where he kept his tools.” McKissick also told police that he did not want to hurt anybody, according to police reports.
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