By ROBIN SHANNON
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — St. John authorities have arrested three teens in connection with a vehicle fire in LaPlace late last year, said a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.

Blake McLean, 17, of LaPlace and Jovi Ray Christopherson, 18, of Lafayette were booked Tuesday evening with aggravated arson and conspiracy to commit aggravated arson, said Capt. Dane Clement, public information officer for the St. John Sheriff’s Office. Christopherson remains incarcerated at the Sherman Walker Correctional Facility in LaPlace on a $75,000 bond, while McLean posted a portion of his $75,000 and has been released.

The third man involved, 18-year-old Corey Smith of LaPlace, was taken into custody Wednesday and booked with conspiracy to commit aggravated arson and accessory after the fact. Smith is being held on a $40,000 bond

Clement said all three were involved in the 2 a.m. burning of a vehicle parked in the driveway of a home in the 2600 block of English Colony Drive in LaPlace on Dec. 27.

Although no one was injured in the fire, authorities said the threat of injury was real to the residents of the home as well as neighboring residents.

Clement said investigators recently received information that tied the three men to the blaze, but would not disclose anything further. A motive for the alleged arson has not been released.