Human Interest · from the archive
Young Firefighter Commits The Ultimate Betrayal
A church, a Masonic lodge, and other structures in a small village in Tennessee were purportedly destroyed by a string of mysterious fires started by a volunteer firefighter over the course of the…
A church, a Masonic lodge, and other structures in a small village in Tennessee were purportedly destroyed by a string of mysterious fires started by a volunteer firefighter over the course of the previous month.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) reported that Leslie Roy Winchester, 19, was detained in connection with a number of fires that were started in the Waverly neighborhood starting in June.
The first fire connected to Winchester took place in Waverly's 5500 block of Bakerville Road last month. Between July 1 and July 8, four further suspicious fires took place at various sites throughout the neighborhood.
Authorities said that a church, a Masonic Lodge, an old fire hall, and a vacant house were among the structures damaged or completely destroyed by the fires.
The fires resulted in the injuries of two firefighters.
Authorities charged the volunteer firefighter with three counts of aggravated arson, three crimes of arson, six counts of criminal trespassing, and six counts of vandalism over $10,000 after identifying him as the culprit.
On a $1,746,000 bond, Winchester was accommodated in the Humphreys County Jail.
Humphreys County presented Winchester with the fireman of the year award in December 2021, according to the station.