QUEEN ANNE’S COUNTY, MD – A months-long investigation into a November 2024 house fire has led to a grand jury indictment and arrest of a Grasonville woman on multiple arson and fraud charges.
Authorities say 40-year-old Appollonia K. Ryans set the blaze at her home on Perrys Corner Road on the evening of November 18. Fire crews from Grasonville and surrounding departments extinguished the fire within 20 minutes, but it caused an estimated $70,000 in structural damage and $15,000 in lost contents. Investigators determined no smoke alarms were present at the time.
Deputy State Fire Marshals ruled the fire was intentionally set and spent months gathering evidence before presenting the case to a Queen Anne’s County grand jury on August 5. The panel returned nine charges against Ryans, including first- and second-degree arson, malicious burning, malicious burning for fraud, false and misleading information for fraud, attempted insurance fraud, theft, and attempted theft.
Ryans was arrested without incident Friday evening by the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office and is being held at the county detention center pending a bond review.
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Key Points
- Appollonia Ryans, 40, charged with arson and fraud in November 2024 Grasonville house fire
- Blaze caused $85,000 in damage; no smoke alarms found in home
- Nine charges returned by grand jury after months-long investigation
