By Nathan Hardin
nhardin@salisburypost.com
SPENCER — Investigators are continuing to add charges for a Spencer man accused of lighting his home on fire with his stepson inside.
Thomas Bernard Turner turned himself in on March 26 after Spencer Police issued warrants for his arrest on charges of first-degree arson and assault with a deadly weapon.
Relatives told the Post Turner broke into his estranged wife’s home while her stepson was inside, went to the master bedroom and set the fire.
According to court records, investigators have also charged Turner with felony discharging a weapon into occupied property and felony possession of a firearm by a felon.
The Spencer Police department did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Wednesday afternoon.
Turner’s stepson, Joseph Walker, told the Post after the incident that Turner used a ladder to break into the 430 Steeplechase Trail home.
Once inside, Walker said, Turner shot wildly throughout the home with a handgun, damaging TVs and other appliances.
He then poured gasoline in the master bedroom and started the fire, the report stated.
Walker said he tried to get a hose from outside, but the fire spread too quickly.
Turner’s estranged wife, Sheena Hastings, said she and Turner had been going through the divorce process prior to the incident.
Contact reporter Nathan Hardin at 704-797-4246.
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