Man charged in Smyrna church burglary and fire

Man accused of breaking into church and starting fire

An Austell man has been charged with breaking into a church, stealing thousands of dollars and religious robes before setting the building on fire. FOX 5's Denise Dillon has the story.

SMYRNA, Ga. - Smyrna Fire officials say church fires in their city are very rare. So it was a bit of a surprise when they got the alarm from the Celestial Church of Christ in the early morning hours of Aug. 27.

The backstory:

When firefighters arrived, they saw light smoke seeping through a broken window and once they got inside there were signs of arson. And once they got inside, there were signs this was an arson.

"Once the fire investigators arrived on scene, it was pretty clear to us the fire had been intentionally set," said Smyrna Fire Deputy Chief Dustin Davey.

Dig deeper:

According to a warrant, a fire had been lit using spiritual clothes and furniture and lamp oil. Smyrna Fire contacted the state Fire Marshall's Office and the ATF.

"We pretty quickly were able to develop a suspect and were able to make an arrest in the case, Anthony Harris of Austell," said Chief Davey.

In addition to the fire, the warrant also states Harris stole $2,500 from the safe and took religious robes and sashes. The document says he was wearing one of the white sashes when he left the building.

"He was charged with arson in the first degree, burglary, criminal damage of property and two counts of theft," said Chief Davey.