Accused serial arsonist is arrested again — now charged with desecrating graves in SC

A man from Upstate South Carolina accused of arson is back in jail, and this time police say he set fire to grave markers, WSPA reports.

Darren Christopher Fowler, 37, was already facing arson charges for allegedly setting hay bales on fire and was suspected in a string of other fires, Fox Carolina reports.

Spartanburg jail records show the Chesnee, South Carolina, man now faces three counts of arson and one count of desecrating a grave.

In addition to the hay bales, police say Fowler set fires at a cemetery and a vacant storage building, WSPA reports. They also charged Fowler with setting fire to a helicopter displayed outside an American Legion Post in Chesnee, according to WSPA.

Police first arrested Fowler in January when a man called 911 and reported seeing someone set fire to hay bales, The Gaffney Ledger reports.

“The concerned citizen stayed on the phone and continued to update dispatch of the suspect’s location and clothing description until Cherokee County deputies were able to make contact with the suspect,” the sheriff said, according to the newspaper.

“Investigators from Spartanburg County will be coming over to conduct interviews to see if this suspect is related to the arson fires in the Chesnee area of Spartanburg County that have occurred recently,” the sheriff said, according to The Ledger.

Fowler got in trouble after that arrest for cursing at a judge during his bond hearing, Fox Carolina reports. The judged charged him with contempt of court, according to the TV station.