Man charged in St. George fire

Fleeing suspect started '05 blaze as diversion, detective says

The Post and Courier

John S. Johnson

Andy Paras
The Post and Courier

The fire that damaged the St. George Pharmacy in September 2005 also burned two other businesses on the same block.

ST. GEORGE — Police say they were chasing John S. Johnson one September morning in 2005 when he ducked into a closed business and created a smoke screen — literally.

Johnson is accused of breaking into a Parler Avenue pharmacy around 1 a.m. and igniting a fire that consumed two businesses and part of a third. The blaze diverted the attention of police and required 100 firefighters from four counties to stop it from leveling the entire block.

Johnson, 30, of Harleyville, was served Thursday with a warrant charging him with first-degree arson. He was already in the Dorchester County Jail for violating his probation on a previous charge of using a vehicle without permission.

Johnson, whose criminal history goes back 11 years, had long been a suspect in the Sept. 11 fire, Dorchester County sheriff's Detective John Garrison said. Authorities recently got additional information that gave them enough evidence to arrest Johnson, he said. Garrison said Johnson admitted to being in the area that morning and told two people he set the fire.

The chase that morning had gone on awhile, Garrison said. Police would spot

Johnson, then lose sight of him. Garrison didn't know why St. George police were on Johnson's trail, and the police chief could not be reached Friday for comment.

The fire "was a good diversion," Garrison said.

Johnson is accused of breaking into the back door of Cash Drug. Garrison said detectives have evidence that the phone lines and security system may have been tampered with.

The fire started around the office area near the back door.

"The fire was so extensive that we never determined there was an accelerant," Garrison said.

The flames spread to the St. George Pharmacy and the Bell and Witherspoon law offices next door. Three St. George firefighters suffered minor injuries. One was taken to the hospital after a ceiling fell on him.

The St. George Pharmacy did not reopen and the law office moved to another location in town. Only James Hodges, the owner of Cash Drug, chose to rebuild. Hodges had been in business on Parler Avenue since 1984. The pharmacy operated out of a temporary location during construction of the new building, which opened in May.

Hodges said customers occasionally asked him if he'd heard anything about the fire investigation. He said he doesn't know Johnson, but if given a chance would like to ask him why.

"It just doesn't make any sense. To break in a place is one thing, but to burn it down is something else," Hodges said.

Reach Nita Birmingham at 745-5858 or nbirmingham@postandcourier.com.