Johnna Pinholster
VALDOSTA — A search of the booking records at Lowndes County Jail revealed that it was a student and resident assistant who was arrested Monday in connection with a series of fires at Valdosta State University.
Cherrish Amber Prickett, 19, has been charged with four counts of first degree arson, according to Lowndes County Jail records.
Prickett was arrested by Valdosta State University police Monday afternoon. She is listed as a fifth floor resident assistant at Langdale Hall, according to the university Web site.
From November of 2008 until Feb. 2, a total of nine fires have been reported at Langdale Hall.
Valdosta State University President Patrick Schloss said that the student will not be allowed to return to the university campus to attend classes or enter the residence hall.
“We are 100 percent confident, based on the work that we did leading up to the apprehension, that the suspect is responsible for the fires since the holidays,” Schloss said.
Valdosta State University police and officials will continue to look into whether or not others had knowledge of the suspect’s actions or participated in the other fires, he said. All fires have been minimal. The last two, which occurred early Monday morning, were contained before causing any cosmetic damage.
The university has enacted a variety of security measures to ensure the safety of Langdale Hall residents since November.
Students entering the residence hall between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. are required to swipe their ID card to gain access, log in with the front desk and again sign in with a resident assistant once reaching their floor.
Motion detectors are fully functional in the residence hall. Card swipes for elevator access and security cameras will be operational by Monday of next week, Schloss said.
A university police officer stationed on the first floor of Langdale Hall monitors the front entrance, and police assistants make nightly foot patrols on the floors.
Technicians are scheduled to install limited video cameras for surveillance near the elevator this week. A $10,000 reward for information regarding the fires is still being offered by the university.
With 450 beds, Langdale Hall’s first floor is reserved for male students, with the remaining four floors housing female residents.
