A January 2017 fire in Crawford County has been deemed arson and a Lake City man has been arrested. Online court records show that Jeffrey Hornback has been charged with second-degree arson, a class C felony, and insurance fraud, presenting false information, a class D felony, in the Jan. 3 fire at 3975 Highway 141, west of Manning. Hornback was officially charged in May and entered a plea of not guilty in the Iowa District Court for Crawford County on June 14. The office of the Iowa State Fire Marshal conducted an investigation and deemed the fire intentional after finding pallets had been piled in the basement and then ignited with cardboard, paper and a space heater. Following the fire, Hornback filed a claim with the insurance company, but he provided conflicting statements to authorities and insurance investigators during their investigation. The rural residence had been vacated at that time and was currently for sale. After being arraigned, Hornback was released on his own recognizance. A pretrial conference has been scheduled for Aug. 15 and a trial date set for Sept. 25.
