Police call off search for Massapequa arson suspect who leapt off bridge

Police will continue to search Friday morning for a man considered a person of interest in a suspicious Massapequa house fire after he allegedly jumped off the Robert Moses Bridge Thursday. Police believe

News 12 Staff

Dec 8, 2006, 4:08 AM

Updated 6,647 days ago

Share:

Police will continue to search Friday morning for a man considered a person of interest in a suspicious Massapequa house fire after he allegedly jumped off the Robert Moses Bridge Thursday.
Police believe Jimmy Johnson started a fire in his house at the corner of Massapequa Avenue and Merrick Road. Neighbors say Johnson and his wife Jeannie are going through a bitter divorce that includes a dispute over ownership of the home. One neighbor says she saw the husband enter and leave the house immediately before the fire broke out around 11 a.m. Thursday. According to police, K-9 units sniffed out a fire accelerant, confirming the fire was arson.
Police searched the water for Johnson's body Thursday night and will continue to look Friday morning. Although nobody was home at the time of the fire, police say the couple's cat was burned to death. Neighbors say the Johnsons have a 12-year-old daughter.