POMEROY, Ohio - Four people have been arrested and charged in connection with the fire that destroyed a Meigs County church Tuesday morning.
Meigs County Sheriff Robert Beegle said, with the help of alert citizens, the case of the fire at the Hemlock Grove Christian Church along Township Road 162 in Rock Springs has been solved.
Arrested were Christopher Divers, 19, New Haven, W.Va.; Jeffrey M. Mullins, 18, Rutland; Joseph Satterfield, 19, Racine, Ohio, and Erin Hawkins, 23, Pomeroy. Divers, Mullins and Satterfield were charged with breaking and entering, a fifth-degree felony; arson, a fourth-degree felony, and desecration, a third-degree felony.
Hawkins was charged with breaking and entering, desecration and complicity to arson.
They are in custody and will appear in Meigs County Court later this week.
Beegle said at the time of the fire, a nearby resident saw the license tag number of a vehicle leaving the scene at a high rate of speed. On Tuesday morning another citizen saw the same car at a residence on Rock Springs Road, Beegle said.
The sheriff's office was notified and Sheriff's Sgt. Danny Leonard arrived at the residence as the suspects were leaving, police said.
Beegle said agents from the FBI, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, the state Fire Marshal's office and deputies from the Meigs County Sheriff's Major Crimes Unit worked on the case.
