From Roanoke City Police: Roanoke, Va.- On January 28, 2014 at 7:33 a.m. Roanoke Police were dispatched to the 2300 block of Salem Turnpike NW to provide traffic control for a working fire. Roanoke Fire EMS was already on scene and contained the fire to a garage on the property. After the fire was extinguished, detectives with the Roanoke Police Department responded to jointly work with the Fire Marshal’s Office in the investigation. The cause of the fire was determined to be arson. Investigators found a tire that was at the point of origin of the fire, matching physical evidence from five previous arsons in that area. Officers began interviewing witnesses and collected other electronic surveillance evidence that led them to develop Clyde Howard Burks, age 51, of Roanoke as a suspect. Officers located Burks and a detective interviewed him. Based on the investigation, officers obtained an arrest warrant for Burks for the January 28 arson. He was taken to the Roanoke City Jail. Burks is a strong person of interest in the five other fires in that area involving tires at the point of origin. The joint investigation is on-going in relation to those five fires. A previous media outlet reported that the fires may be tied to gang initiations, however officers investigated and found Burks has no known affiliation to any gangs.
