Arsonist who caused nearly $1 million in damages at SC Walmart punished, prosecutor says
A South Carolina man is going to prison following a fire intentionally set at a Walmart Supercenter in Columbia, according to the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Laurence Blocker pleaded guilty to a third-degree arson charge stemming from a May 2023 fire at the Garners Ferry Road Walmart, the solicitor’s office said Monday in a news release.
On Jan. 23, Blocker was ordered to serve an 8-year term in a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison, although the sentence was suspended to 6 years because of time already served in jail, Richland County court records show. Blocker, a 39-year-old Columbia resident, was also given 2 years of probation following his release, according to court records.
Blocker faced a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison on the felony third-degree arson charge, according to South Carolina law.
On May 11, 2023, the Columbia Fire Department responded to a fire at the Walmart Supercenter on Garners Ferry Road, according to the release. That’s in an area densely packed with retail businesses, hotels and restaurants near Exit 9 on Interstate 77.
Firefighters found smoke throughout the main area of the store and quickly brought the blaze under control, the fire department said in 2023. Everyone inside the store at the time made it out safely and no injuries were reported, according to the fire department.
In addition to the store, $500,000 of merchandise was damaged in the fire, Columbia officials said. Photos from inside the store showed burnt objects and standing water in the aisles of the Walmart.
The cost of the overall damages caused by the fire nearly $1 million, the solicitor’s office said.
The Columbia Police Department shared images from the surveillance footage, leading to Blocker’s capture two blocks from the store, according to the release.
The store’s surveillance cameras recorded Blocker igniting a shelf of foam mattress toppers, the solicitor’s office said.
During an interview, Blocker admitted to police that he was at Walmart at the time of the fire, according to the release. Upon being taken into custody, law enforcement found multiple lighters in Blocker’s possession, the solicitor’s office said.
Following an investigation, Deputy Fire Marshall Ken Willis confirmed that the fire was intentionally set and that the individual in the surveillance footage was responsible for it, according to the release.
Information about a motive for setting the fire was not available.
Assistant solicitors Samuel McGlothin and Keith Taylor prosecuted the case for the solicitor’s office. Columbia attorney and public defender Hope Demer was listed as Blocker’s lawyer, court records show.
This incident was not the first time Blocker was arrested in Richland County.
In December 2021, Blocker was charged with second-degree burglary. He pleaded guilty to the charge in 2022, court records show.
Prior to that, Blocker pleaded guilty to common law, strong arm robbery in 2014, as well as domestic violence and breach of peace in 2016, according to court records.
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This story was originally published January 27, 2025 at 2:40 PM with the headline "Arsonist who caused nearly $1 million in damages at SC Walmart punished, prosecutor says."
