ATF Charges 2 Men In East Texas Church Fire
TYLER, Texas – Federal authorities say two men have been charged with setting an east Texas church on fire and are suspected in a string of similar blazes this year.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokesman Tom Crowley says 19-year-old Jason Robert Bourque and 21-year-old Daniel George McAllister were charged Sunday with felony arson in connection with a fire last month at a church in Smith County in east Texas.
Crowley says the men are suspected of intentionally setting other fires in east Texas, where 10 churches have burned since Jan. 1. Authorities suspect a fire at a church in the central Texas town of Temple was also arson.
Bond for each suspect was set at $10 million.
Crowley says he has no information on the suspects’ attorneys.
