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VCU student charged in late-night dorm fires

Posted at 3:00 PM, Nov 21, 2012
and last updated 2012-11-21 15:00:22-05
Javier Chavez, 22, of Sterling, Va., is charged with one felony count of burning an occupied dwelling. (PHOTO: VCU)

Javier Chavez, 22, of Sterling, Va., is charged with one felony count of burning an occupied dwelling. (PHOTO: VCU)

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – A VCU student is accused of setting fires in a university dorm. Police arrested 22-year-old Javier Chavez, of Sterling, on Tuesday.

Police said Chavez set two fires early Saturday morning in two bathroom trash cans inside Rhoads Hall, a West Franklin St. highrise dorm.

Chavez was charged with a felony count of burning an occupied dwelling following a joint investigation by Virginia State Police and VCU Police.

Police said Rhoads Hall had to be evacuated when those fires were set. No one was injured in the fires. The fires caused an estimated $20,000 damage to the dorm, police said.

Police said the investigation was “on-going.”