Columbus woman pleads guilty to arson

TOPEKA -- Attorney General Steve Six announced Wednesday that Belinda L. Schooley, age 30, plead guilty in Cherokee County today to one count of aggravated arson. Schooley will be sentenced on at 3 p.m. Aug. 20.

Schooley was arrested last January and charged for the January, 2005 fire at Video Mart, located at 201 East Maple St. in Columbus. At the time of the fire, three occupants in an apartment above the business were at home. The occupants were rescued by the Columbus police and fire departments.

Investigators found there had been two separate fires set in the building and that each had been set intentionally.

The Attorney General's office was contacted by Cherokee County Attorney John Bullard and asked to assist on the case.