Tennessee volunteer firefighter charged after ‘setting’ Church on fire

A Tennessee volunteer firefighter has been charged after multiple buildings including a Church and Masonic Lodge suspiciously caught fire.

19-year-old Leslie Roy Winchester was arrested after a small community of Waverly witnessed multiple fires, according to the TBI (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation).

The first fire broke out in June, the string of four fires started from July, raising suspicions of a conspiracy. The first fire that Winchester was booked for broke out in 5500 Block of Bakerville Road, Waverly. Four other fires broke out from July 01 to July 08 throughout the community.

A Church, Masonic Lodge, an empty house, and a former fire hall were damaged or destroyed in the fires, according to the Fire Department.

At least two brave firefighters suffered injuries while combating the fires. Upon investigating, authorities discovered that the volunteer firefighter was the alleged suspect.

Winchester now faces three counts of arson, three counts of aggravated arson, six counts of criminal trespassing, and six counts of vandalism.

He is kept at the Humphreys County Jail on a $1.746m bond. He was given the Firefighter of the Year award in 2021.