A 25-Year-Old Beverly Hills, Florida, man was caught by cops Friday for allegedly burning a statue of Jesus Christ and setting fire to two homes.
25-YEAR-OLD BEVERLY HILLS MAN ARRESTED ON FELONY ARSON CHARGES
— Sheriff Citrus (@SheriffCitrus) October 23, 2021
Yesterday, October 22, 2021, at approximately 7 a.m., Citrus County deputies and Citrus County Fire Rescue were dispatched to Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church regarding a brush fire.
Read more in our news release. pic.twitter.com/Nsds9Yrvb1
At Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Beverly Hills, the suspect, James Lee Harris burnt "a tree and a statue of Jesus Christ," a vacant home on South Wadsworth Avenue and another home on South Barbour Street, reported Fox News.
A witness saw a white man dressed in a leather jacket and running shorts run across the parking lot toward the front of the Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, and said that he saw the person pour liquid out of a gas can around a tree and a statue of Jesus Christ and then burnt them. The church's surveillance cameras were checked by cops who saw a man, matching the description shared by the witness. The suspect was also seen trying to set propane tanks near the building on fire, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay.
Calls about a man setting structures on fire were received by the Citrus County Sheriff's Office when deputies were at the church. One person, who stayed off South Barbour Street in Beverly Hills, called and said that a fence on their property was set on fire, and shared that their windows and front door were covered in a liquid, which was suspected to be gasoline. At another location, fire rescue teams at South Wadsworth Avenue saw flames coming from an open window. The fire was put out, but it damaged the vacant home.
Harris was identified as a person of interest in the three arson cases and was taken into custody by detectives, who used surveillance footage to help catch him. Sheriff Mike Prendergast said that not only is arson dangerous, but can be deadly in some cases. He shared that no one in the community was injured during "Harris' tirade of inconceivable acts." The suspect confessed to the crimes after being read his Miranda Rights, said detectives.
Harris, who is currently being held at the Citrus County Detention Facility on a $36,000 bond, has been slapped with charges including one felony count of arson to a church and one felony count of arson to a dwelling.
