Published: September 24, 2008 01:36 pm            

Arson suspect awaits hearing

Authorities anticipating return of man accused of setting fire at FUMC

WAURIKA — Justin Blake Adams sits in a cell at Wichita County Jail, awaiting possible extradition to Jefferson County, where he is wanted in connection with a fire at the First United Methodist Church of Waurika.

Adams was arrested around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, less than 18 hours after a suspicious fire was discovered at the church on the corner of East D and Pine streets. The 19-year-old Texas resident faces charges of second degree burglary and second degree arson, with bail being set at $100,000.

“At the earliest, it will be the middle of the week before he (Adams) is sent back to Jefferson County,” Carrie E. Hixon, assistant district attorney for the District 6 District Attorney’s office, said Monday. “There will be an extradition hearing, and a (Wichita County) judge will offer (Adams) a chance to waive extradition. If he does, he’ll be transported back then.

“If he refuses to waive extradition rights, we’ll need to get a governor’s warrant.”

Should Adams chose not to waive his extradition rights, the process of obtaining a governor’s warrant could take several week.

Adams was arrested by agents of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), who were called in on the case by Waurika Police Chief Earnest Tolle. Tolle was on the scene during Saturday’s fire at First United Methodist and a preliminary investigation led him to believe the fire was intentionally set.

Tolle said there were indications the church had been entered illegally, and evidence of vandalism in several rooms indicated the fire was of a suspicious nature. Tolle then contacted the OSBI and the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal’s office.

Once agents from the OSBI arrived, they began several interviews, from which they determined the suspect was Adams, who’d been visiting relatives in Waurika. Saturday night, agents drove to Wichita Falls, Texas and arrested Adams.

Monday morning, an investigator from the State Fire Marshal’s office determined the fire was an act of arson.

“I was thrilled to hear the OSBI went to Texas and was able to make an arrest so quickly. It all went pretty good,” said Tolle. “The fire looked suspicious from the start. And I had very reliable source information about who the suspect might be.”

The fire caused extensive damage to a storage room, the platform area containing the pulpit and the choir loft. Extreme heat in the sanctuary caused keys on a piano and church organ to melt, and also melted ceiling fan blades in the sanctuary.

The roof above the storage room and choir loft, and brickwork under roof eves in the sanctuary were charred.

There was also extensive smoke damage in nearly every room of the one-story, V-shaped structure. Glasswork in the sanctuary was intact, with the exception of a pane of stained glass near the peak of the roof on the south end of the sanctuary.

“Actually, the damage could have been a lot worse if the fire would have gotten more oxygen,” said Waurika Volunteer Fire Department Chief Johnny Berry.

Berry said the initial call to the fire station was received at 5:01 a.m. Saturday and the first WVFD unit arrived on the scene at 5:06. In all, four units responded to the scene, where a deputy from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office provided traffic control.

“When we first arrived,” Berry said, “there was heavy smoke at the north end of the church and smoke coming from all of the eves, but there were no visible flames.

“When we entered the southwest corner of the building, we found the ceiling on fire and the ceiling in the storage room had fallen down, and there was fire burning along the floor. We put that out and ventilated the building.

“The sanctuary had lots of heat damage, but the rest of the damage in the building was just from smoke.”

Noting that 16 of Waurika’s volunteer firefighters responded, Berry added, “My guys did a heck of a job.”

Because of the early-morning hour, it’s believed the suspect was the only person in the vicinity of the church. Rev. Trevor Smith, minister at FUMC, was returning from his honeymoon, when he received a call about the fire on Saturday. Smith returned to Waurika on Sunday.

Despite the damage, the FUMC congregation held Sunday school and a worship service Sunday at the church.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.