Md. Arson Suspect Fails Polygraph

A man charged with the arson that caused $10 million in damage to an upscale housing development under construction in suburban Washington told authorities he was present at the location along with others he knew while the fires were being lit. He also failed a polygraph test, according to an affidavit released Friday.

Aaron L. Speed, 21, of Waldorf, "claimed that he knew of a plan by others known to him to set a fire at the location," according to the affidavit. "He also asserted that he told others how to gain access to the site."

He was to appear before a federal magistrate Friday, prosecutors said.

Speed, a security guard hired to protect the Hunters Brooke development, was the first person charged in what authorities describe as the worst arson in Maryland history. The scale of the arson has convinced investigators that more than one person may have been responsible.

The affidavit, signed by FBI Special Agent G. Joseph Bradley, said Speed failed a polygraph test Thursday, "including an inquiry as to whether Speed helped to start the Hunters Brooke fires and whether Speed was involved in starting any of the fires."

When Speed was asked who might have started the fire, he said, "Someone who works at the site and recently experienced a great loss," according to the affidavit.

Speed told investigators that he left Security Services of America from August 2004 until October 2004, due to SSA's "indifference to the death of his infant son. ... Speed further explained that he felt SSA was not sympathetic to his family's needs during their time of crisis."

Speed also told investigators that the fire, in his opinion, was set by someone pouring an accelerant, followed by someone lighting it with a "hand-held propane torch." Fire investigators located a small propane torch on the fire scene, according to the affidavit.

Speed's attorney, John Chamble, a federal public defender, declined to comment on the case Friday.

On Thursday, Speed told WUSA-TV, "They have the wrong man." He made the remarks outside his parents' home, after the house was searched but before he was arrested.

"Everything that I'm doing, I'm doing willingly to prove to them that I am innocent," he said. I'm taking a polygraph today that'll show them that I'm innocent."

Eighteen months ago, Speed was placed in a foster home by an organization specializing in mental health treatment.

His former foster mother, Faith Kern of Waldorf, said an agency called Alternatives for Youth and Families asked her about a year and a half ago to take Speed in. He was living with his mother and stepfather, Kern said. She declined to say why he left their home, but said "he was overcoming his anger."

"He has overcome some difficulties in his life, but he made progress with me," Kern said. She said Speed lived with her for about six months.

"I found him to be a very likable person," she said. "I don't think he would do anything like that and I'm really sorry he's a suspect."

A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office said she did not know how many arson charges Speed faced.

Speed is an employee of Security Services of America, a company hired to guard the Hunters Brooke development in southern Maryland. The fires broke out there early Dec. 6. No one was hurt, but 10 houses were destroyed and 16 others were damaged.

Because of the size of the 10-acre crime scene, authorities believe at least two people are responsible for the arsons. No information was available on additional suspects following Speed's arrest.

Early speculation was that the fires were set by environmentalists who believed the houses were a threat to a nearby bog, but police have said no evidence has been found to support that theory.

Authorities searched the home of Speed's parents Wednesday and towed a car away, said David Jaillet, whose stepdaughter is married to Speed. No one answered the door Thursday night at the house. A homemade "No Trespassing" sign was taped to the storm door.

Linda Auwers, general counsel for the parent company of Security Services of America, ABM Industries Inc. of San Francisco, said authorities asked the company not to comment. "We are fully cooperating with the authorities in their investigation of this matter," she said.

The Washington Post reported last week that Speed told the newspaper he saw a blue van at Hunters Brooke the morning of the fires. He said he was visiting the guard on duty at the time. Speed told The Washington Post that he could only see a driver and wasn't sure whether anyone else was in the van.

"It basically looked like they were trying to watch," he told the newspaper, referring to the van. "I saw it lingering around. ... It kept passing by the construction site entrance."

Firefighters responding to the blazes reported seeing the van leave the scene, the Charles County sheriff's office has said.

Jaillet said his stepdaughter and Speed married about a year ago and had twin boys earlier this year, but one of the babies died of intestinal complications.

Speed is a "decent person," Jaillet said. Asked if he thought Speed was involved in the fires, Jaillet said: "No, I don't think he is; it's not in his character."

Jaillet said Speed had worked as security guard for about a year and was a supervisor at the Hunters Brooke site.

The head of Alternatives for Youth and Families, which is based in Charlotte Hall, declined to comment on whether Speed was a client. Executive Director Eugene Johnson said the organization specializes in outpatient mental health programs for people between the ages of 5 and 22, including therapeutic foster care.