Maskall Woman Charged With Arson After House Destroyed by Fire

A 21-year-old Maskall Village woman has been charged with arson following a fire that completely destroyed the home she reportedly shared with her boyfriend.  Vayda Ashanti August, an unemployed, appeared unrepresented before the Magistrates’ Court on Monday, where she was arraigned on a single count of arson. Police allege that on Saturday, August 1, August intentionally set fire to a sixteen-by-twenty-four-foot wooden house belonging to 33-year-old Jose David Recinos. The house and its contents were valued at approximately thirty-five thousand dollars.  No plea was taken because the prosecution is awaiting instructions from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on whether the charge will proceed summarily or on indictment.  According to the allegations, August and Recinos were separating, and a man had been hired to help August remove her belongings from the residence in the Spanish Town area of Maskall. After the items were loaded onto a pickup truck, August allegedly told the man that she had set the house on fire. He reportedly checked the structure and found it on fire. Efforts by residents to extinguish the blaze were unsuccessful, and the house was completely destroyed.  August was subsequently detained following a complaint from Recinos, whom she identified in court as her boyfriend.  August was granted bail of ten thousand dollars, along with two sureties of five thousand dollars each. She must now report to the Maskall Police Station every Wednesday and notify the court before changing her address.  August was also ordered not to contact, interfere with or communicate with Recinos or members of his family, whether directly, indirectly or through social media. She must also remain at least one hundred yards away from his home, workplace and other places he regularly visits.  August met bail on Monday afternoon and is scheduled to return to court on September 23.