Three men were charged in connection with an arson and conspiracy investigation that caused a home in Croydon, Pennsylvania, to go up in flames, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday. 

Gavin Ross Montoya, 27, Charles William Vandenberg, 50, and Thomas J. Parker, 36, were each charged for their roles in the arson and conspiracy case on Aug. 8, 2025. 

Officials said Montoya and Vandenberg were charged with arson, recklessly endangering another person, criminal mischief, conspiracy to commit arson and other offenses. Parker was charged with criminal conspiracy to commit robbery and hindering apprehension. 

On the morning of the arson, a Bristol Township Police officer saw a white work van burning, which led to the investigation. The fire spread from the vehicle to part of the house, and all five people inside were safely evacuated. 

According to the DA's office, investigators found surveillance footage that showed Montoya lighting an alleged flare and throwing it into a van parked in the driveway outside a home on Cedar Avenue on Aug. 8. Officials said Vandenberg solicited Montoya to set the van on fire and that Parker drove him to and from the scene. 

Investigators said that Parker gave Montoya a ride to the arson so he could rob someone for drugs. He allegedly dropped off Montoya at the corner of Cedar Avenue and State Road and waited for him to return after the robbery. When he got back to the vehicle, Montoya allegedly told Parker that he set the van on fire, officials said. 

The DA's office said that detectives found a conversation on Montoya's phone with Vandenberg about the arson. In the conversation, officials said Vandenberg told Montoya, "NEED THAT VAN TOURCHED," and Montoya replied, "CAN I GET 10GS IN 2 BAGS." Vandenberg also allegedly told Montoya to "GET ROAD FLARE," according to the DA's office. 

The investigation also looked into the death of Ed Margavich, an 80-year-old veteran firefighter who died one week later due to an injury while working on the job the day of the arson. Margavich, who was the Captain of Fire Police with the Third District Volunteer Fire Company in Bristol, was assisting firefighters in Croydon when the alleged arson happened. 

Margavich was helping shut down a nearby road and went back to a firehouse to pick up cones when he was injured during a fall. He died on Aug. 15 due to complications from a thigh bone fracture.

Officials said the investigation revealed that the three men charged in the arson couldn't be charged in connection with Margavich's death. 

"The District Attorney's Office joins the community in mourning the loss of Captain Margavich, who devoted nearly 65 years to serving and protecting others. His dedication saved and protected countless lives and properties and his absence will be deeply felt by all who knew him," the DA's office wrote in a news release. 

Vandenberg was arraigned last week and taken to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on $350,000 bail. Officials said Montoya and Parker will be arraigned at another time.