14-year-old SC boy took video of arson in Black church, court testimony shows
A 14-year-old boy took a video of himself while setting a fire at a Black church outside of Rock Hill, York County deputies said in court Tuesday.
Neither police nor prosecutors have alleged racial motivations for the April fire at Catawba Chapel AME Zion, a predominantly Black church in rural York County. The fire location is near where the boy was living at the time — off U.S. 21 near the Chester County line and south of Rock Hill, York County Sheriff’s Office detective Eddie Wong said in court Tuesday.
The boy made a first appearance in York County Family Court Tuesday. The Herald is not naming the suspect because of his age. The 14-year-old boy is charged with second-degree arson, malicious damage to a place of worship and burglary, prosecutor Whitney Payne of the 16th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said in court.
“This is a very serious incident,” Payne told Judge Gene Morehead.
During the investigation after the fire, deputies uncovered a video of the boy showing him pouring lighter fluid and talking about the blaze, Wong said in court Tuesday. A Zippo fuel canister with a relative’s name on it also was found in the church, Wong said.
The fire caused more than $100,000 in damage, Wong said in court. A Christian flag that was doused with lighter fluid was burned. Pews were damaged, officials said.
No one was hurt in the fire. Church members discovered there had been a fire in late April when they prepared the church for Sunday worship, Sheriff Kevin Tolson said.
The boy was arrested after detectives uncovered the video and interviewed others the suspect allegedly told about the fire.
The boy is charged in Family Court where any conviction can only last until age 21, South Carolina law states.
The boy accused in the fire did not speak in court. He has been in juvenile detention since his arrest.
His lawyer, Stacey Coleman of the 16th Circuit Public Defender’s Office, said in court the suspect has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other conditions. The defendant has limited scholastic capabilities, Coleman said in court.
Judge Morehead ordered the defendant remain in juvenile detention while being tested for competency to stand trial on the charges against him.
York County deputies investigated the fire, along with the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division.
