2 fires in Calhoun County; arson arrest in one

Two Calhoun County homes were heavily damaged by fire late Wednesday night, including a trailer on Northwest Willow Bend Road in Altha where Lisa Vaughn lived until recently.
A suspect has been arrested on a charge of arson in the other fire, on Newsome Road several miles away, according to Calhoun County Sheriff David Tatum.
He said it does not appear that the two fires are related, and that investigations into both are continuing.
According to Tatum, an employee of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department who lives near the Newsome Road fire helped to detain suspect Dowling Stone Jr. until Calhoun County authorities arrived to make the arrest.
According to the offense report, Calhoun County deputies and firefighters responded to a call from Newsome Road about a structure fire around 8:30 p.m. Jackson County deputy Charles Morris told authorities that Stone had knocked on his door that night and said he’d burned a house down across the street.
When Morris looked across the road, he saw the house afire and advised Stone of his rights. Morris kept Stone at the house until Calhoun County authorities arrived, according to the offense report.
A Calhoun County deputy subsequently reported that Stone had also made statements to him, and that he had also advised Stone of his rights.
The owner of the home, Craig Baldwin, was described as an acquaintance of Stone. Authorities said that Baldwin had left Stone at the house that evening and returned to find firefighters working to save his home.
According to the Calhoun sheriff’s reports, a fire investigator said that “the fire pattern and the structure were consistent with an intentionally set fire.”
Tatum had little initial information about the other fire, on Willow Bend Lane in Altha, except that it was called in around 9 p.m.
The trailer was not currently occupied, but had recently been vacated by Lisa Vaughn. However, her sister, Tonya Simco, said that all or most of Vaughn’s belongings were still in the structure.
Vaughn’s name has been in the news in recent days because of her videotaped encounter with former Calhoun County correctional officer William “Billy” Strawn. The videotape, recorded at the home of one of Vaughn’s relatives, played a role in Strawn’s firing and arrest.
Strawn is charged with bribery and solicitation of prostitution in the case. He served as a transport officer for Tatum at the time of his arrest.
In the videotaped incident, Strawn is seen talking to Vaughn at a residence in Altha. Strawn had taken her to that dwelling from jail a few hours before he went off duty and returned to the house in his personal car, Tatum said.
In a press release about the case last week, Tatum advised that Strawn allegedly met Vaughn there and “engaged in a negotiation for sex.” She had been released from jail earlier that day after her charges were resolved, according to a press release from Tatum’s office.
Vaughn’s husband was still in jail and awaiting further court action in his case, and she “was asking Officer Strawn for special consideration for her husband in exchange for sex,” according to press release, which went on to say that “Officer Strawn participated in this negotiation and may have initiated it; however, it was ended when family members interrupted.”
According to Tatum, some male members of Vaughn’s family beat up Strawn shortly after the encounter was recorded.