Home Domestic incident escalates Thursday with home destroyed after car crashes into it, starts fire
Local, Public Safety

Domestic incident escalates Thursday with home destroyed after car crashes into it, starts fire

doublewide trailer with fire damage in Albemarle County
Photo courtesy of Albemarle County Police Department.

A reported domestic incident in Albemarle County on Thursday morning led to a vehicle crashing into a home and starting a fire.

At 10:39 a.m., units from Albemarle County Fire rescue and officers from the Albemarle County Police Department responded to a single-family home in the 1800 block of Secretarys Road.

The home’s occupants were evacuated safely from the fire with no injuries.

The single-family home is considered a total loss due to the fire damage.

Four adult residents and one juvenile resident of the home have been displaced by the fire.

Jacob A. Pope, 26, of no fixed address, allegedly left the scene on foot with a baseball bat. A search for Pope followed. He was apprehended more than four hours later at 2:47 p.m. in a vehicle on Interstate 64 westbound near mile marker 121.

Pope has been charged with three felonies:

  • Attempted malicious wounding (§18.2-51)
  • Child endangerment (§18.2-371.1)
  • Arson (§18.2-77)

Pope is in custody pending a bond hearing.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact ACPD at (434) 296-5807. For those who wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (434) 977-4000 or [email protected].

Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for nearly 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.