Free Republic

CV NEWS FEED // A suspect is in custody for causing the fire that ravaged St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Salem, Oregon, this week. What began as a dumpster fire in the early hours of the morning of August 31 soon escalated, spreading to the roof of the church building. On the same day, the Salem Police Department announced the arrest of a suspect, Billy James Sweeten, in a statement shared with CatholicVote. “Due to the suspicious circumstances of the fire, arson detectives from the Salem Police Felony Crimes Unit responded to the scene for the investigation, resulting in the...

In silence, firefighters rested in the pews of St. Joseph Catholic Church Thursday morning, watching smoke drift from a pile of charred debris that had fallen onto the altar. . . . . The fire began in a dumpster on church property around 2:30 a.m. Thursday and spread to the building’s roof. It quickly grew to a five-alarm blaze requiring about 20 vehicles and 40 firefighters to get under control. Nobody was injured.Police said Thursday afternoon they had arrested a suspect, 48-year-old Billy James Sweeten, on first-degree arson charges. Sweeten is lodged at the Marion County Jail, police said.