2 Teen-Agers Arrested In Landis Church Fire

BY MATTHEW WINTER
SALISBURY POST

LANDIS - Rowan County deputies arrested two China Grove high school dropouts Wednesday for burning the Landis Church of God outdoor shelter off Bostian Road Nov. 27.

Investigators and residents say the arrests follow more than a year of vandalism and trespassing in the area.

Deputies arrested Justin Paul Driver, 17, of 1725 Bostian Road and Donald Lee Rodgers Jr., 17 of 140 Scarlet Drive. Both are charged with felony burning of church and misdemeanor larceny.

The 80-hour investigation by Rowan County authorities and agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms linked the two with another local fire and with numerous vandalisms in the Bostian Road area, Rowan detective T.L. Wyrick said.

Investigators also charged Driver with felony burning of a bridge for allegedly using a bottle of gasoline to set fire to a bridge in the 1500 block of Bostian Road during May or June 1997. They also charged Driver with felony possession of a weapon of mass destruction after finding a sawed off 20-gauge shotgun in his bedroom. Landis Police Department also charged Driver with felony forgery.

Driver remains in the Rowan County Detention Center under a combined $100,000 bond. Rodgers remains in the jail under a $10,000 bond.

Officers may file additional charges against the two in connection with other vandalisms.

The Nov. 27 fire completely destroyed the Pentecostal church's outdoor shelter and a float stored there which church members planned to enter in a number of local holiday parades. The fire caused about $20,000 in damage.

Church members completed the shelter in September and used it for outdoor services, Baptisms and family gatherings. Wyrick said Driver and Rodgers were part of a group of teen-agers who used the shelter as a hang out at night.

Investigators claim the two took some items from the church's float Nov. 27, then returned and used a lighter to set the float on fire. Coincidentally, the trailer upon which the float was built belonged to a Rowan County deputy and church member.

The Rev. Bruce Rabon said this morning he was relieved authorities have made an arrest in the case, but said he was disappointed federal charges have not been filed.

Wyrick said investigators made the decision to file state and not federal charges because of the suspects' ages and because the building that was burned was not a complete church.

Sylvia Ritchie, another nearby resident, said most of the mailboxes in the neighborhood have been vandalized within the past year. She also said police had to come out to her home around Labor Day because Rodgers had trespassed on her porch carrying a shotgun.