Police charge Myrtle Beach man with arson in connection to Ocean Creek Resort blaze
A Myrtle Beach man faces more than 500 years in prison after police say he started the fire at an apartment building at the Ocean Creek Plantation on Friday night.
Police charged James Clark Rusenko with a total of 21 counts second-degree arson. Each count carries a penalty of three months to 25 years in prison if convicted.
At approximately 10:30 p.m. firefighters and police responded to a reported structure fire on Ocean Creek Drive, according to a police report. Ocean Creek Plantation is in the Myrtle Beach area near Barefoot Landing.
Crews arrived to find a three-story building with 21 units in smoke and flames, which were visible coming from multiple floors of the facility.
Residents were evacuated while crews battled the blaze. Horry County Fire Rescue spokesman Tony Casey said two hours after the fire that crews were going through the building to ensure everyone escaped safely, and no injuries have been reported. Casey did not have the number of total residents in the building.
Gary Collina said he was walking his dog nearby and saw lights from the fire trucks and smoke coming from the building.
“It made me a little bit nervous,” Collina said, adding that he was further concerned because he said the building is made of wood.
While on scene, officers were approached by several subjects who said they believed the fire was intentional, the police report states.
Police requested the criminal investigation department, whose investigation led to Rusenko, according to the report. He was taken to J. Reuben Long Detention Center, where he remains incarcerated and had a $10,000 bond set Saturday.
Crews from Horry County, Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach responded to the scene. Horry County police also assisted in the area.
Staff reporter David Wetzel contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 23, 2019 at 11:15 AM.
