At 5:22 a.m. on Monday, February 10, 2025, Bensalem Township Police and the Bensalem Volunteer Fire Department responded to the 5200 block of Merganser Way for a report of a dwelling fire. Upon arrival, Emergency Services located six adult residents who had evacuated from the home, some of whom had to jump out of second-story windows to escape the flames. Fire engulfed the two-story single-family dwelling, which resulted in a total loss. Two dogs perished in the fire, and the six adults were transported to nearby hospitals with injuries.

Bensalem Fire Rescue and Bensalem Police Detectives began investigating the causation of this fire.  Through investigation, it was discovered that the fire appeared to be intentionally set and incendiary in nature.  Nearby home surveillance captured a black sedan as it passed the home on Merganser Way and stopped at the Mallard Drive intersection at 5:01 a.m.  A subject exits the vehicle with an object and walks towards the residence.  After approximately 15 minutes, the subject appears to run back to his waiting vehicle and departs the area on Mallard Drive towards Portside Drive.  As the suspect vehicle fled the area, smoke could be seen billowing up from the rear yard of the home, and within 30 seconds, a large explosion was observed, and the house became engulfed in flames.  The only lead in the case was a grainy image of a black sedan from a neighbor's surveillance system.

Detectives utilized township intersection cameras to identify and track the vehicle entering and exiting the township.  While in Bensalem, the car passed through an intersection with Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) installed.  Detectives found that the 2021 black Volkswagen Passat had a Michigan registration.  The vehicle came back to Brian Jones of Rockford, Michigan.  An additional search of various ALPRs across the state allowed detectives to track the vehicle traveling toward Bensalem before the fire and back toward Michigan after the fire had been set.

Detectives interviewed residents of the home on Merganser Way. They discovered that a 21-year-old male resident had an online relationship with a female who lived in Michigan and was supposed to come to Bensalem to meet in person for the first time this week.  The ex-boyfriend of the female from Michigan was identified as Harrison Jones of Rockford, Michigan, who lives at the same address as the owner of the Volkswagen Passat.

Bensalem Detectives contacted the Kent County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan and requested assistance with the investigation. The Kent County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant for Harrison Jones's residence and seized the 2021 Volkswagen Passat, lock-picking devices, cell phone, and computer. When the Kent County Sheriff's Office made contact with him, he also had what appeared to be burns on his arm.

Bensalem Detectives contacted the Bucks County District Attorney’s office and received approval for an arrest warrant for Harrison Jones. The warrant, signed by District Justice Dan Baranoski, charged Harrison Jones with six counts of Attempted Criminal Homicide, Arson, Risking Catastrophe, and related offenses. The Kent County Sheriff’s Department arrested him, and he is awaiting extradition back to Pennsylvania.

The Bensalem Township Police Department would like to thank the Kent County Michigan Sherriff’s Department for deploying numerous resources and manpower to identify, interview, and arrest Harrison Jones for these heinous acts.  We would also like to thank Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn and Deputy District Attorney AJ Garabedian for their assistance.

We would especially like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the Bensalem Township Police Officers, Fire Investigators, and Bensalem Detectives who took a grainy image of a vehicle and turned it into the arrest of a suspect who traveled over 700 miles and 11+ hours each way to commit crimes that nearly cost six people their lives.