South Carolina

Lugoff man set his house on fire twice in the same day, investigators say

Lugoff firefighters respond to a fire in the 1300 block of Longstreet Road.
Lugoff firefighters respond to a fire in the 1300 block of Longstreet Road. Photo provided.

A Lugoff man is facing arson charges for allegedly setting his own house on fire twice in the same day.

Marvin Leonard Hill, 60, was booked into the Kershaw County Detention Center on Thursday on two counts of second-degree arson.

State Law Enforcement Division investigators said the Lugoff Fire Department became suspicious, when they first responded to Hill’s home in the 1300 block of Longstreet Road in Lugoff at 5:48 a.m., on Wednesday to reports of a fire.

Responding firefighters found two separate and unconnected fires in different rooms of Hill’s home, according to the warrant. That same day around 9:38 a.m., they responded to an even bigger blaze at the same home, this time in a different room in the opposite end of the house.

Lugoff firefighters struggled to extinguish the second fire that engulfed the second floor of the home. The fire battalion chief on scene had to request all available manpower from county firefighters for help, according to the fire department.

Once SLED got involved, one of their K-9s found two spots where “ignitable liquids” were used. When questioned by SLED, Hill allegedly told investigators he was in the process of divorcing his wife, who The State newspaper is not naming.

“Marvin Hill also indicated during the interview that he was going to get his money back out of the house through his insurance, so he wasn’t concerned about the fires,” the warrant said.

Though Hill told investigators that the house is in his wife’s name, Kershaw County property records list him as an owner as well.

Cynthia Roldán: 803-771-8311, @CynthiaRoldan

This story was originally published February 24, 2017 at 9:36 AM with the headline "Lugoff man set his house on fire twice in the same day, investigators say."

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