Arson suspect to attend hearing

The Riverdale man suspected of being the Washington-area serial arsonist is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt today for a detention hearing on charges unrelated to the fires.

Noel Gibson, 33, who yesterday was described as “weird” and “scary” by neighbors at his Riverdale apartment complex, was arrested last week on charges of lying to investigators.

He remains jailed without bail at the Prince George’s County Correctional Center in Upper Marlboro pending today’s hearing.

Meanwhile, the arson task force is investigating whether Mr. Gibson is linked to 35 fires set in Northern Virginia, the District and Prince George’s County since March 2003. A blaze in June killed Lou Edna Jones, 86, in her Northeast home.

The multiagency task force has linked 15 of the fires conclusively to the serial arsonist.

Mr. Gibson was arrested and questioned by task-force investigators on Wednesday after posing as a fire official at a Lanham elementary school. Investigators also obtained a warrant to search his white Volvo for “destructive devices” and other evidence.

Mr. Gibson, who has an extensive arrest record, has been jailed previously in the District for making domestic threats and destruction of property.

At the Riverdale apartment complex where Mr. Gibson lives, many of his neighbors yesterday said they never noticed the man, who bears a close resemblance to a composite sketch of the serial arsonist released Feb. 18.

However, some residents who interacted with Mr. Gibson said he left them with an uneasy feeling.

“All I know is that he is a little weird, and I didn’t want to have anything to do with him,” said a 49-year-old woman who did not give her name.

She said that on a couple of occasions, Mr. Gibson offered her a ride in his Volvo as she walked to the neighborhood bus stop.

“I told him no, and he still drove real slow along beside me,” she said.

Clement Achoa, a 32-year-old pharmacy technician, said he had been leery of Mr. Gibson, although he said Mr. Gibson always was polite when the two greeted each other in the parking lot.

“He looked scary, suspicious or whatever … because of the way he dressed. He wore Army boots all the time,” Mr. Achoa said.

He said he also was suspicious because there was always something covered by a blanket in the back seat of Mr. Gibson’s car, but he never inquired about it.

“I mind my own business,” Mr. Achoa said.

Mr. Gibson’s car, which had stolen tags, fit the description of a Volvo that was seen driving away from Magnolia Elementary School in Lanham on April 5. A man who police suspect was Mr. Gibson was turned away from the school after he flashed a Prince George’s County fire investigator’s identification card and requested personnel information, fire-evacuation plans and a yearbook.

Investigators found a Prince George’s County Fire Department fire coat and a patch from the defunct Hillside volunteer fire company in Mr. Gibson’s car. They also recovered the identification card of a Prince George’s County firefighter.

The charges against Mr. Gibson stem from his telling investigators he was a Fairfax County firefighter. He is not a Fairfax County firefighter, and it is not clear whether Mr. Gibson was ever a firefighter.