Pennigton
Haley Pennington Gregg committed the offense of Arson 2nd Degree on her home at 586 Hickory Grove Road, according to Pendleton County Sheriff Office,which led to her arrest for the charge.
Led by their personnel of trained, certified and experienced fire and explosion investigators that have a combined 63 years of experience, they determined Gregg “ignited the bed in the master bedroom by placing paper products in the middle of the mattress and setting it on fire.”
Further, their investigation led them to believe she applied some type of accelerant to the fire to increase the intensity and spread the blaze.
Gregg “ignited the bed as she was leaving the residence with her husband, Mager Gregg, and their son. She was the last one to exit the home and set the fire on her way out” read the KYIBRS report.
The narrative indicates that on January 11, 2020, Mager and Haley had a fight, verbal domestic, and he left the home to go to his dad’s to drink with his brothers. In actuality, he went to the home of a female friend.
The next morning, Mager returned to the home and Haley informed him that they were all going to visit her grandma who was in a physical rehab center in Ripley, Ohio. Both stated that the front door was unlocked when they left the home.
Both indicated in their interview that he took their son to the car, and she was the last one out about--five minutes behind him and their son. According to the narrative, Haley’s version of this changed multiple times in team interviews with several insurance and police/fire investigation teams.
Ted Rebholz was the second person to call the fire into Pendleton County Dispatch who sent Northern Pendleton Fire District to the scene.
Rebholz went to the front door, which was locked, and then went to the kitchen door and reported seeing heavy smoke. He yelled, and nobody was home.
He had contacted Haley’s parents and they in turn were trying to reach her to let her know her house was on fire. Meanwhile, Mager had received a call from a friend who was called by a neighbor to inform him that his house was on fire.
They had stopped at Dollar Store in Brooksville to pick up her grandma’s favorite snack.
With Campbell County Fire District 1 and Falmouth Fire Department now on scene with Northern Pendleton Fire District, the chief of Northern Pendleton expressed experiencing “comments of attitude and inconvenience from Haley in regards to fire suppression.
Approximately an hour after the couple and their son had left the residence, Pendleton County Sheriff’s Office had dispatch contact the Campbell County Fire Investigation team. Special Deputies for Pendleton County Trent Hanson has more than 20 years of experience and Brendan Bradley has more than 18 years experience.
Along with Chief Deputy Marty Hart, who has more than 25 years experience, they began investigatin the scene.
The report indicates that Haley and Mager were interviewed separately and Haley “was anxious, possibly had ETOH on breath and could not answer many questions completely.”
Mager was described as “generally concerned and lost for words.”
During the investigation, Haley alone would approach the team and ask “Can you tell me yet how the fire started? I want to know right now how the fire started.”
At 10:04 p.m., Northern Pendleton was dispatched back to the residence for smoke and fire. Minutes after they were on scene, the narrative reads, “Per Haley, she had been drinking but states she drove herself there to the fire. Unknown why she would not alert Mager. Mager states he woke up on his own for a drink of water and noticed she was gone.”
He called her, and she was at the fire scene.
Northern Pendleton fire chief called for an officer to the scene because “Haley was on the scene quickly and acting hostile, possibly intoxicated, making comments ‘It takes all these big, bad fire fighters to put this little fire out and just let it burn.’”
Both State Auto Insurance Adjuster and the fire team conducted investigations that included interviews of Haley and Mager.
During the evidence collection process, Hanson found envelopes lying in the side yard that gave evidence that a Cincinnati law firm had been hired to file foreclosure precedings.
Also, “several statements found on scene indicate that accrued debt, small loan denials, house services shut off and over $10,000 owed on the home.
The State Auto Fire Investigator Mark Wright and the investigative team came to the conclusion “of rapid growth while ruling out all unintentional ignition sources.”
Over a year later on January 15, 2021, Hart and Hanson interviewed Haley and Mager separtely and noted:
Haley “answered our questions in short word answers and also told us different answers than what was assessed during her other interviews with the insurance company.”
Mager “has answered every question the same. Calm demeanor and extremely sympathetic about losing his house and has concern for Haley’s current well-being.”
On February 19, 2021, Hart and Hanson interviewed Mager’s roommate who was told by friends of Haley that “she was bragging that she set her own house on fire and that the fire started on the bed.”
One of the friends confirmed to Hanson that he heard “Haley say regarding how she admitted to starting her own house on fire with paper products on the bed in the master bedroom.” He added that he believed she was “truthful and needs help.”
Pennington appeared in Circuit Court on May 19 for arraignment on Arson 2nd degree. A public defender was appointed and she entered a plea of not guilty.
Discovery is set for June 18, 2021 and the pretrial conference on July 21, 2021. Motion for bond reduction was taken under advisement. Bond is set at $20,000.