On Tuesday, December 10, the Cincinnati Fire Investigation Unit (FIU) arrested four individuals in relation to the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge fire investigation. Terry Stiles, 39, is charged with one count of Aggravated Arson F1; Zachary Allen Stumpf, 23, is also charged with one count Aggravated Arson F1. Additionally, James Hamilton, 26, and Kaitlen Hall, 23, have each been charged with two Felony Counts of Obstruction of Justice.

All four were arrested and taken into custody at 204 Erkenbrecher Ave in Arlington Heights. With assistance from the Cincinnati Police Department and Reading Police Department, FIU arrived at 11:20 a.m. to execute a warrant for Kaitlen Hall. She was taken into custody without incident at 11:30 a.m.

Once on scene and with the help of an investigatory drone, it was discovered Stiles and Stumpf were also at the location hiding in the attic and refusing to come out. After several hours of standoff, the Hamilton County Police Association SWAT Team was notified, but both suspects surrendered just after 2 p.m. before SWAT had to be deployed. Both were taken into custody. At approximately 2:30 p.m., Hamilton was also taken into custody.

Stiles and Stumpf are each being held on $1 million bond. Hall and Hamilton are each being held on $60,000 cash bond.

While the investigation is still ongoing and certain sensitive details cannot be released, CFD FIU Investigators share they were able to gather critical information in this case through phone records, license plate data, video camera footage, and interviews.

The City would like to acknowledge the collaboration across jurisdictions to take these individuals into custody, and extends thanks to the following agencies for their support with this ongoing investigation:

• Hamilton County Prosecutor's office
• Hamilton County Police Association SWAT Team
• Cincinnati Police Department
• Reading Police Department
• Woodland Drone Team (UAS)

The bridge caught fire early on the morning of November 1, 2024, following the spread of a fire started below in the 1000 Hands Playground at Sawyer Point. The CFD crews fought to contain and extinguish the fire for hours.

This investigation is ongoing. If anyone was driving across the bridge at the time of this incident, or has any information that can help investigators, please call CrimeStoppers at (513) 352-3040.