TONOPAH, Nev. (AP) - A 60-year-old Arizona man has been arrested in rural Nevada after a search launched when he was identified as the suspect a fire that had been deliberately set at a home on a ranch where he used to work, authorities said.
James Edward Conley was taken into custody early Friday by Nye County sheriff’s deputies after a resident in the mining town of Round Mountain recognized him from a notice posted during an overnight search for him.
Conley was taken to a county jail in Tonopah pending a court appearance on arson, theft and leaving the scene of a crash charges and a warrant from another state, the sheriff’s office said.
It was not immediately known if Conley had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
Conley had been fired this week from his job at the ranch in northern Nye County and was suspected of fleeing in his vehicle after setting the ranch house afire, sheriff’s officials said.
The vehicle was found wrecked and a search was launched after Conley was seen near Nevada State Route 376 north of Tonopah.
Tonopah is more than 210 miles (338 kilometers) northwest of Las Vegas. Round Mountain is about an hour drive north of Tonopah.
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