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Gary Steven Wainwright, 36, of Warrenton, was found not guilty of the arson of the Old Hollow Grocery by Judge W. Shore Robertson during a one-day trial in Rappahannock Circuit Court Feb. 6.
Mr. Wainwright is the former owner of the now-closed grocery in Sperryville.
Deputy Connie Compton discovered the building on fire the night of Aug. 22, 1990. She testfied having seen Mr. Wainwright’s vehicle behind the store minutes before making a U-turn on U.S. 211 and discovering the building aflame.
Testimony during the trial was that the state forensics lab did not find evidence of petroleum products such as gasoline or kerosene in samples taken from the site of the fire at the rear of the one-story building.
An insurance company witness said the cost to repair damage done by the blaze was $9,344.
Mr. Wainwright had been indicted for “feloniously and maliciously, or with intent to defraud an insurance company, burn or destroy, in whole or in part, a building, to wit, the Old Hollow Grocery, of a value of $200 or more, when no person was in such building."
Prosecution witnesses said the grocery’s financial condition had worsened and that Mr. Wainwright had tried to sell the building, which he had purchased less than three months before the fire.
Ownership of the building has now reverted to its previous owner following a courthouse auction, but the store remains closed.
In other police and court news this week:
• Anthony Allen Sheffield, 19, of Viewtown, was charged with indecent exposure and taking liberties with a child under 18 and drunk in public following an incident at a residence in Viewtown this week, according to Sheriff John H. Woodward.
Deputies responded to a call at the home and arrested Sheffield for drunk in public. A warrant was later sworn out for the exposure charge, said the sheriff. On Monday Sheffield was in jail in lieu of $2,500 cash bond.
• The Rappahannock Sheriffs Office is investigating a break-in at a weekend cabin on Route 626 at Rock Mills, according to Sheriff John H. Woodward.
The cabin was entered by forcing open a side window, and taken were a $50 Hoover vacuum cleaner, a bread knife and some groceries.
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