Published: July 05, 2009 12:03 am      

Arson suspect now charged with credit card fraud

Richmond police charged a Berea man already accused of arson with a charge of fraudulent use of a credit card for buying back items he had pawned, including a mandolin that police believe was the reason he allegedly set the fire.

Michael C. Shoopman, 25, and his girlfriend, Marisa Nichole Pearson, are each charged with second-degree arson for allegedly setting fire to Shoopman’s parents’ home on Bratcher Lane in Berea on Nov. 19.

Kentucky State Police arson investigator Detective Pat Alford testified at a preliminary hearing in that case June 24 in Madison District Court that he believes the fire was set to conceal the theft of a mandolin from the home.

Alford testified he believed the fire was set to conceal the theft of the mandolin because investigators were unable to locate the remains of the mandolin following the fire, and said the mandolin may have been pawned later.

Shoopman is alleged to have pawned the mandolin, a guitar and a Sony PlayStation 3 video game console to Richmond Pawn in December and January, according to Sgt. Willard Reardon, Richmond Police Department spokesman.

Reardon said an investigation into the case indicated Shoopman and an unidentified female returned to the pawn shop twice in January to retrieve the items using a credit card.

Police later determined the credit card did not belong to the woman who used it, and the $1,530 in charges were not authorized by the cardholder.

Shoopman was served with the warrant while in custody in the Henderson County Detention Center on unrelated charges, Reardon said.

The arson charges against Shoopman and Pearson were sent to a Madison County grand jury by Senior Judge David Hayse following the preliminary hearing.

Hayse said he found “some cause” to send the case to a grand jury despite the possibility the fire may have started accidentally because of electrical problems and the fact that Shoopman and Pearson had possessions inside the home at the time of the fire.

Pearson is free on 10 percent of a $50,000 cash bond. Shoopman’s bond was lowered to the same bond from a $100,000 full cash bond.

Brian Smith may be reached at bsmith@ richmondregister.com or at 624-6694.