Daniel Prince
Fire initially wasn't deemed suspicious until incident at a party in Greenville
A Union man has been charged with third-degree arson in a case that goes back to December 2021. Back on December 10, deputies responded to a residential structure fire at 347 Gillmore Road in Union. The older-style residence was fully involved, with little left of the structure. Deputies were informed the occupants were not at the residence at the time of the fire. The fire did not seem suspicious at the time.
Several hours later, Deputy Justin Littleton received a call from Santuc Fire Chief Mark Wade, stating he had talked to the residents of the home. He stated that a woman who lived there said they were at a Christmas party in Greenville, and that her boyfriend and another man, identified as 23-year-old Corey Adam Johnson, had gotten into an altercation at the party. Greenville police were called to the scene to remove Johnson from the area. Littleton contacted Captain Scott Coffer about the new information, and he told Littleton to go back to the scene of the fire and take pictures. Coffer stated that due to the damage and lack of evidence, they weren’t going to call SLED in.
Littleton spoke with the woman, who confirmed what Wade had told him. She said that at some point during the argument, Johnson had made comments about messing with their house. She said she didn’t think Johnson would do something like that, and she thought that he might do donuts in the yard or something. Statements were obtained from the woman and three witnesses.
Following investigation, Johnson has been charged with third-degree arson, which is a felony charge that carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison if convicted.