DA Files Charges in Moore Church Fire Case

News9.com

MOORE, Oklahoma - Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn has filed charges against a man in connection to a fire that destroyed a Moore church Tuesday morning.

Richard Shawn Arnold, Sr., 29, has been charged with burglary count and an arson count.

A church member called police Tuesday morning about a possible break in at the Hope Adventist Fellowship Church. When police arrived on the scene in the 1400 block of N.E. 12^th Street, the church was on fire, said Moore Police Officer Jeremy Lewis.

"There's a lot of memories, a lot of people in our congregation got married here, like me and my wife did, it's hard in that aspect to see that part gone," Hope Adventist Fellowship Church Pastor Jason Watts said.

Firefighters were called to battle the blaze.  The fire caused the roof to collapse at about 7 a.m. No firefighters were in the building at the time.

"It's always sad, I'm on insurance adjuster so to have it happen to something that's a little more close to home, a little heartbreaking," church member Nicole Miles said.

The fire appears to have started in the attic and spread.

"It's sad, but again, that's, they're gonna have to live with that," church member Jana Jennings said. "I can forgive him or her, whoever it is. I don't know, they're gonna have to deal with their own personal issues with that."

Arnold was seen running from the building just before it caught fire around 6 a.m. Tuesday. He was arrested for public intoxication and was taken to the Cleveland County Jail for questioning.