ELSBERRY • An Elsberry man was charged today with multiple counts of arson and burglary for setting fires last year to several homes and businesses, some of them occupied.

Roy William Gunn, 32, of the 300 block of South Third Street, was charged with six counts of second-degree arson, two counts of burglary, and one count of knowingly burning and exploding, all felonies.

Starting in July, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Missouri State Fire Marshal and the Lincoln County Arson Task Force began investigating a series of fires in Elsberry. They were usually set at vacant homes and buildings, and caused a total of about $500,000 in damage.

Gunn was being held in the Lincoln County Jail on a $75,000 cash-only bail.