Teens arrested, accused of burning two Columbus County homes

WHITEVILLE, NC (WWAY) — The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office says three people were arrested, one of them a junior volunteer firefighter, following an investigation into several suspicious fires this month.

They say Joshua Michael Sutton, 16, and volunteer junior firefighter Zachary Paul McPherson, 17, are facing arson charges for setting two of the fires. Both Sutton and McPherson are charged with 3 felony counts of burning an unoccupied building and 3 felony counts of breaking and entering.

They were each booked under a $150,000 secured bond.

McPherson is a volunteer junior firefighter for Brunswick Fire Department located in Columbus County.

The sheriff’s office was called to a structure fire at 58 Carl Stephens Road in Whiteville on April 11. They say during the investigation, it was determined that an interior portion of the residence had been intentionally set on fire.

Then on April 13, deputies say they responded to the same address in the early morning hours. They say the unoccupied home had been intentionally set on fire again, resulting in a complete loss of the structure.

The sheriff’s office says they were called to 2064 Carl Stephens Road in Clarendon a day later, on April 14, for a structure fire which was a total loss. Investigators determined that fire was suspicious.

They say the Columbus County Fire Marshall and the sheriff’s office investigated the suspicious fires and charged Sutton and McPherson for the crimes. The sheriff’s office says a third person involved is a juvenile, and that a juvenile petition has been obtained for them.