MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CHURCH FIRE

October 22nd, 2009

Scott Steven Davis, 39, of Palestine, Texas, was sentenced on Friday, October 2, 2009 by District Judge Mark Calhoon to ten years in prison after pleading guilty to an arson last year at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints building at 4400 N. Loop in Palestine.

The fire on March 30, 2009, was linked to a dispute with Mr. Davis’s wife, who had recently separated from her husband. The fire was set on the pew where Davis and his estranged wife normally sat during services because he was upset at local Latter Day Saints (commonly called Mormon) church leaders for the reason that he believed they had sided with his wife.

While there was little damage to the structure of the church, the water from the sprinkler system and smoke from the fire caused over $100,000 in damage.

Arson is normally a second-degree felony, but because the fire was set in a church, the crime became a first degree felony, which is punishable by 5 years to 99 years or life imprisonment. Davis was not eligible for probation because he is a convicted felon, having served one year in military prison for possession of child pornography. He had failed to register in Anderson County as a convicted sex offender.

The fire triggered an alarm at the church around 5:30 p.m. March 30. Firefighters discovered water pouring from the church doors; the fire had been extinguished by the sprinkler system.

The case was investigated by Palestine City Fire Marshall Alan Wilcher, who confirmed the fire started in the church pew where Davis had lit a wad of paper towels, likely from the church kitchen, on fire. Davis had also turned on all of the electric stove burners in the building’s kitchen in his unsuccessful attempt to burn down the church.

Additional evidence proved that Davis burglarized his way into the church by breaking out the window in a glass door.

The arson was the culmination of several days of rage directed at his wife because she told him of her divorce plans.

“The morning of the fire Mr. Davis had called or texted her at least 35 times in an attempt to coerce her into continuing marital relations. When she refused, he threatened to get her fired from her job with TDCJ.” said Mr. Wilcher.

“Mr. Davis then proceeded to place signs around her place of work with her phone number advertising sexual favors. He also broke into the former family home and destroyed furniture and belongings,” according to Mr. Wilcher.

Witnesses located by law enforcement described a man matching Davis’s description walking away from the church minutes after the fire alarm was set. In a canvas of the area, video footage of Davis was found at a local convenience store just prior to the fire.

Fire Marshal Wilcher also found phone records showing that Davis had called his parents from a phone inside the closed church just prior to the fire.

As a condition of any parole, Mr. Davis was ordered by Judge Mark Calhoon as a part of the defendant’s plea agreement to pay $106,000 in restitution to the church. Also, Mr. Davis’s prison inmate trust account can be garnished for restitution payments.

Anderson County Assistant District Attorneys Scott Holden and Elizabeth Watkins and Investigator Aneshia Bridges handled the case and obtained a protective order for Mrs. Davis as a part of the Anderson County Violence Against Women Act (V.A.W.A.) initiative.

Mr. Davis was represented by David Cervantes, a private attorney who practices in Houston County, Texas.