COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Law enforcement took 15 people into custody Thursday morning after a series of South Side raids.
NBC 4 has been on the story since the beginning, and Tom Brockman reported with an update.
Since fall, there have been dozens of fires that authorities ruled were intentionally set.
The Columbus fire arson bureau along with Columbus police and the U.S. Marshals joined forces to conduct raids and get answers as to who was behind the arsons.
Authorities began the early morning operation with the intention of putting at least a dozen people behind bars.
After four weeks of surveillance, authorities were armed with almost 100 arrest warrants for offenses ranging from misdemeanors to felonies.
"We were serving one search warrant on one lady that had a theft warrant, and when we went inside, we ended up asking a few other people if they had warrants," CFD's Jeff Happ said.
Christy Parsley was one of the people who was arrested at a house on Bruck Street.
She had a warrant out for misdemeanor theft.
She also happens to be the wife of William Parsley, who was arrested last week on arson charges.
Teams surrounded a home on Barthman Street and made another misdemeanor arrest. Authorities moved to High Street next.
Officials said the raids were intended to send a message to residents -- those who follow the law and those who don't.
At the same time, authorities hoped to learn more about who is behind the rash of arsons.
"We're hoping that with all the doors we knock on today that somebody will be willing to come forth and tell us something," Happ said.
Columbus Fire wanted to assure residents authorities are doing all they can to make more arrests in connection with the many arson fires.
For additional information on this developing story, stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
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