DOCUMENT: Crime

Cops: Jealous Boyfriend Set Strip Joint Fire

Suspect, 21, did not want girlfriend dancing

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Strip Club Arson

DECEMBER 14--A West Virginia man charged with torching a strip club told police that he set the blaze because he did not want his girlfriend to continue dancing at the establishment, court records show.

According to police, Creio Chance Bishop, 21, yesterday attempted to burn down JB's Gentlemen's Club in Huntington. The 3:30 AM fire damaged the club’s front door, air conditioner, surveillance camera, siding, and an exterior wall.

Investigators allege that Bishop watched the fire burn from across the street and even yelled at a passerby to mind his own business when the witness appeared to be dialing 911. Bishop was subsequently apprehended in the parking lot of a Walmart across from the strip club.

No injuries occurred in the fire, which did minimal damage to the strip club’s exterior.

Upon his arrest, Bishop reportedly revealed a personal motive for the blaze: He wanted to force the closure of JB’s as a way of keeping his girlfriend, McKayla Biedenbach, from continuing to perform at the strip joint.

After being detained, Bishop “excitedly stated he was tired of his girlfriend working at JB’s so he set it on fire,” a criminal complaint alleges.

Biedenbach, seen above, has worked at the club for six months, though her employment now appears in jeopardy. Jim Reed, the strip club’s manager, told a WSAZ reporter that if Bishop (pictured at left) makes bail, he could not risk keeping Biedenbach as a dancer. “He might do this again,” Reed said. “It might be worse next time.”

Charged with second-degree arson, Bishop is being held in lieu of $10,000 bail. (2 pages)