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Delta Man Indicted On Arson, Fraud Charges




Ricky T. Lamb, Jr., 23, Delta, whose family was burned out of their home in January, has been indicted by a Fulton County Grand Jury on charges ranging from arson to telecommunications fraud.

In a press release issued last week, Paul Kennedy, assistant county prosecuting attorney, said Lamb was indicted on two counts of aggravated arson and one count each of arson, insurance fraud, grand theft, telecommunications fraud, and falsification in a theft offense.

The release said, “On or about Jan. 3 to July 20, Lamb allegedly caused physical harm to an occupied structure in Lyons and allegedly stole property valued at more than $7,500 but less than $150,000.

“He also allegedly disseminated or transmitted any writing by means of a telecommunications service in furtherance of a scheme to defraud.

“Finally, he allegedly presented an insurance claim valued at more than $7,500 but less than $150,000, knowing it was false.”

Community Support

The fire struck the family home in Lyons the night of Saturday, Jan. 3, while the Lambs were out. Reports at the time were the family lost everything.

Efforts to assist Lamb and his family started soon after the fire, with donations from across the county.

Much of the effort was discussed on the social media website Facebook.

There are at least two web “pages” on the crowd-funding website gofundme.com which, together, have raised $1,405 for the Lambs. One page states the immediate Lamb family is not involved; it purports to have been put together by friends and family.

Another page on the site features an essay signed by “Rick Lamb.”

In a February update on that page, someone, apparently Rick Lamb, wrote, “We have received a good amount of community support. We all have a lot of clothing and are all set there.

“The extra we donated to other families in need, or helping hands (Hands of Grace) in Delta.

“We need mainly all the furnishings and beds and mattresses. Anything extra or not used will be given to another person in need.”

Suspicious

Matt Smithmyer, Lyons fire chief and a Fulton County sheriff deputy, said once the blaze in the Lamb home was extinguished, an initial examination of the wreckage for the cause of the fire proved inconclusive.

“Everything was frozen solid,” he said.

Later, the insurance company paid to have a subcontractor board up the house and put heat in the structure to facilitate a more thorough examination.

Smithmyer said as firefighters dug through the wreckage, there were “a couple of things” they had questions about. The insurance investigators found issues as well.

“We decided we needed to take a look at this,” he said.

A few days after the fire, investigators from the State Fire Marshal office began looking into the matter with assistance from the sheriff department.



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