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Man charged for 2021 Elkhart County barn fires pleads guilty

Elkhart County Sheriff

A man charged in connection with a string of Elkhart County barn fires last year pled guilty to eight counts of arson Monday as part of a plea agreement.

Nappanee resident Joseph Hershberger was arrested last December in connection with the fires, which took place from April to October in locations across the county. His sentencing hearing is set for next month.

Fellow Nappanee resident Sherry Thomas has also been charged with arson over the fires. She is due in court in November for a change of plea hearing.

Hershberger and Thomas have also been charged with arson over a separate 2021 fire in Marshall County.

Contact Jakob at jlazzaro@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @JakobLazzaro.

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Jakob Lazzaro came to Indiana from Chicago, where he graduated from Northwestern University in 2020 with a degree in Journalism and a double major in History. Before joining WVPE, he wrote NPR's Source of the Week e-mail newsletter, and previously worked for CalMatters, Pittsburgh's 90.5 WESA and North by Northwestern.