ATLANTA — Investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told Channel 2 Action News they are considering federal charges against Interstate 85 arson suspect Basil Eleby.
"We're in the process of reviewing the evidence and the facts of this investigation," ATF Assistant Special-Agent-in-Charge James Deir told Channel 2's Mark Winne. "This investigation will be presented to the United States attorney's office in the immediate future with regards to a determination whether or not federal charges will be filed."
Finding a fire's origin is one of ATF’s specialties. Deir said ATF certified fire investigators train long to develop highly technical forensic knowledge. But in the investigation of the fire leading to the I-85 bridge collapse, done in conjunction with the state fire marshal's office and Atlanta fire, the ability to deal with witnesses proved key to making an arrest in roughly 24 hours.
“It sounds like in this case, people skills were key to breaking the case?” Winne asked Deir.
“Absolutely. This case and others are usually and fundamentally solved with good old-fashioned police work. And that involves the ability to talk to people,” Deir said.
Deir said surveillance video played a role, too, though he did not wish to provide much detail.
So far, Eleby is charged on the state level with arson and criminal damage to property.
According to a document, Eleby has maintained he left the area before the fire started.
Barry Thomas and Sophia Brauer got misdemeanor criminal-trespass citations, but they are not suspects in the fire. Instead, they are considered to be important witnesses.
Deir said ATF prides itself on its ability to work with state and local officers; in this case, relationships already built through a metro Atlanta arson task force made things move more efficiently.
“We’re able to assist from Jump Street with regards to that incident and where our resources were best needed. We started identifying leads immediately and started pursuing them actively.”
Friends: Eleby in and out of counseling for years
Those who know the man accused of sparking the fire that brought down the Interstate 85 overpass bridge say he has been in and out of substance abuse counseling for years.
On Tuesday, Channel 2's Nicole Carr spoke with several people who hired and went to counseling with Eleby. They say he lived and worked near the I-85 bridge for at least the last decade.
Carr found Eleby’s shoes on the floor of the car. A desk was also built in the car.
Eleby also worked at an auto repair shop nearby.
"I never seen anything he ever did before; anything … . It's a surprise; unbelievable," Menge Gizachew, owner of GT Automotive, said.
Gizachew has owned the business on the edge of Buckhead for nearly 20 years. He first reached out to Eleby in the early 2000s and has seen him every day since.
“He cleans very well. Wash the cars, vacuum the cars and takes the garbage. Everything he did was fine. After I made sure he did everything I paid him," Gizachew told Carr. “Until this nuisance came we were fine. We had no problem with him.”
Eleby is charged with arson, trespassing and damage to property in connection to the massive blaze that led to the collapse of the I-85 bridge.
A case warrant describes the 40-year-old telling police he went under the bridge to smoke crack cocaine, but left ahead of the fire.
A witness told investigators he set a chair on fire. No one has said how it was lit.
"It's hard to conceive how lighting a chair on top of a shopping cart could burn down a whole bridge," a friend of Eleby told Carr, asking not to be identified.
The man said he and Eleby have been in and out alcohol abuse counseling at the Triangle Club for more than a decade.
He wants to know all the factors at play in the blaze.
"He becomes an easy target because he's homeless and he was breaking the law, and they had to have somebody take the fall," the friend told Carr.
Hours after Carr’s interviews Tuesday, Atlanta police officers and a detective arrived at GT Automotive to go through belongings around the Mercedes where Eleby slept.
People who hired and fed him are still trying to process the allegations.
“But what I'm saying is I know him like seven, eight years. I don't think so,” Gizachew said.
Eleby's unrelated criminal past includes a mix of drug possession and simple assault charges.
In the I-85 case, he is being represented by a public defender. His bond was set at $200,000 and he's due back in court on April 14.
Two other homeless people were initially charged, but investigators have since labeled them witnesses.