ATLANTA �� The man accused of setting the fire that destroyed part of Interstate 85 talked with companions about smoking crack cocaine before the fire started, a document released Saturday says.
The fire collapsed a well-traveled stretch of I-85 _ triggering millions of dollars in damage and wreaking havoc on traffic, potentially for months, as the state rebuilds the wrecked section.
Basil Eleby was charged with first-degree arson. Eleby made his first court appearance Saturday morning.
Judge James Altman announced the arson charge, which was added to an earlier felony charge of criminal damage to property, and set bond at $200,000. The judge said he had considered an amount more "commensurate" with the damage inflicted.
"But in this case," the judge said, "that would amount to hundreds of millions of dollars."
Eleby shook his head when Altman mentioned the possibility of pleading guilty at a future court proceeding. But the suspect said nothing during the brief hearing.
His public defender had asked the court to let Eleby skip the hearing, but the court refused.
Eleby and two others, Barry Thomas and Sophia Brauer, were charged Friday.
Thomas and Brauer were charged with criminal trespass. Eleby is facing far more serious charges.
According to an affidavit by a fire department lieutenant, the suspect admitted to frequenting the area where the fire was set and acknowledged being there on Thursday afternoon about the time the fire started.
Eleby told investigators from the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that he met Thomas and Brauer there at about 4 p.m. and they "discussed smoking crack cocaine together."
But Eleby ultimately decided "he would consume the drugs by himself" and "left the area before the fire started," according to the affidavit, which was prepared in support of Eleby's arrest warrant.
Thomas told a different story.
"Mr. Thomas watched Basil Eleby place a chair on top of a shopping cart, reach under the shopping cart and ignite it," the affidavit says.
Thomas told authorities that he and Brauer then fled.
Meanwhile, the Georgia Department of Transportation continued around-the-clock work to repair the damage Eleby is accused of causing.
Six sections and about 700 feet of roadway on I-85 _ 350 feet in each direction of travel _ are being removed and replaced, including support columns. The northbound section collapsed during the fire, but the southbound lanes also were compromised, authorities said. Demolition work has begun on those lanes as well.
The repairs are expected to take months.
