BEDFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A Calhoun County teenager was formally charged Monday for the arson that destroyed the Old Mill in the quaint community of Bedford, north of Battle Creek.
The fire at the mill on M-37, near Hutchinson Road, started late Tuesday night. It was the second arson attempt at that building in about a month.
The suspect is 19-year-old David Bax and police say he’s linked to both incidents. Monday he was charged with felony third-degree arson.
Police say they took him into custody Saturday afternoon after interviewing him. Bax was out of jail on bond for allegedly trying to start a fire at the mill just six weeks before that caused minimal damage, according to investigators.
Battle Creek Police Detective Scott Silverman said witnesses, physical evidence and Bax’s past helped lead them to him. As for the motive behind it, that still isn’t clear.
Silverman says he wasn’t able to get a “satisfactory answer.” “
It was a building that wasn’t in use, there were no were utilities going to building at the time, to kind of go to the same place twice is a little out of the ordinary,” he said.
Bax is currently being held on a $250,000 bond.
The case is still under investigation.
