Four people have been arrested in connection with the Nov. 1 fire that damaged the Daniel Carter Beard/Big Mac Bridge.
According to court records, Zachary Stumpf, 23, and Terry Stiles, 39, were arrested late Tuesday and are each charged with aggravated arson. Kaitlen Hall, 24, and James Hamilton, 26, are each charged with two counts of obstructing justice. All the charges are felonies.
All four were arraigned Wednesday. Bond was set at $1 million each for Stumpf and Stiles, who are accused of intentionally setting the fire. They're both listed to be back in court on Dec. 17.
Hall is charged with lying to investigators about knowing the two men and how to contact them. Hamilton is charged with harboring Stumpf and Stiles.
Cincinnati Fire Chief Frank McKinley and Mayor Aftab Pureval say the investigation is ongoing and more arrests could be coming.
McKinley says a Tuesday evening press conference was called to "dispel false narratives" about the arrest and the fire.
"We want to be careful about the information we release," McKinley told reporters. "It's very sensitive. There is still an ongoing investigation and we want to make sure we don't release any inaccurate information."
One cause officials say they've ruled out: people experiencing homelessness.
"Fire investigators have confirmed... we've ruled out that this was a homeless encampment," McKinley said.
The fire started around a playground under the bridge and burned hot enough to damage the bridge's steel support beams. Crews are currently working on removing and replacing those beams. The bridge's southbound lanes are closed and aren't expected to reopen until March.
"Fire investigators have been pouring over evidence and videos, hours and hours of evidence, that led to today's arrests," Pureval said. "We have other strong leads and we expect to have more announcements here in the following days."
