“We’ve had several offers,” the Reverend David Smith said this morning, three days after the church on Ashton Street was broken into and the kitchen extensively damaged from fire. The offer from Askew fit the best.
Smith said worship on the following Sunday should be back at the church and he hopes repairs to the kitchen, where the fire was apparently set, and fellowship hall, which he described as a wreck, will be completed by the middle of August.
Following the break-in, in which two older model laptops and loose change was stolen, a fire extinguisher was deployed, Smith said it appeared the fire was started by a hymnal being placed on the stove.
Whether deploying the fire extinguisher was a malicious act or an attempt to keep the fire from being suppressed is something church members have discussed, but something that can’t be answered, Smith said.
Firefighters said the fire extinguished itself from lack of fuel but still the damage to the kitchen was extensive and there was enough smoke damage to keep the congregation from worshipping at the church Sunday.
Despite the offers for help, Smith said insurance will take care of the repairs. “There was very little permanent damage. We’re very fortunate and really glad we didn’t lose everything.”
The pastor said he was not familiar with Jacob Davis, a 21-year-old Roanoke Rapids man police have developed as a person of interest in the case.
In an email to rrspin.com Friday, a family member said Davis had been in the county jail since last Saturday and couldn’t be responsible for the fire.
However, a check with the Halifax County Jail this morning showed Davis was brought into the jail for other charges early Tuesday morning and released Wednesday at 8:25 p.m.
Police responded to the break-in shortly before 7:30 p.m. Wednesday— the church had been secure since its services last Sunday.
Police encourage the man’s family members to ask him to cooperate with investigators in the matter.
Davis is also wanted by the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office for larceny of a motorcycle. Davis has a previous record of larceny after breaking and entering.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the police department at 252-533-2810, the sheriff’s office at 252-583-8201 or Halifax County Crimestoppers at 252-583-4444.
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