MEMPHIS, Tenn. — UPDATE 3/18/2021 - (SHELBY COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE) - A North Memphis man has been indicted on first-degree murder charges for allegedly setting fire to a rooming house last year which resulted in the death of another resident, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.
A grand jury also indicted defendant Jerry Lee Sanders on counts of aggravated arson and aggravated assault. He is being held on $500,000 bond.
The incident occurred on May 24, 2020, in the 1100 block of Gerard Street where Sanders, 57, was in an argument with Gregory Fowler, 54, over a lawnmower.
Investigators said Sanders told Fowler to leave the residence and that when Fowler refused Sanders began dousing the kitchen and Fowler’s bedroom door with gasoline. Sanders then lit a paper towel and threw it on the gas-covered floor.
Firefighters managed to get Fowler out of the burning house, but he died later at a hospital. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death as smoke inhalation.
A female resident who was in the house escaped unharmed.
The case is being handled by Chief Prosecutor Stephanie Johnson of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 2 which prosecutes cases in General Sessions Division 9 and in Criminal Court Division 2.
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5/25/2021 - A Memphis man is charged after investigators say another man died following a house fire.
The Memphis Fire Department says 56-year-old Jerry Sanders is charged with aggravated arson.
Firefighters were called to the home in the 1100 block of Gerard Street Sunday about 9:30 p.m. They found the house on fire, and it took about 15 minutes to bring it under control.
A man was found inside the home and taken to Regional One’s burn unit with 2nd degree burns and smoke inhalation. The victim died at the hospital. His name has not been released, and the Shelby County Medical Examiner is still determining the cause of death.
Damage to the home totals about $30,000. Investigators say the cause was arson, and fires had been set in several locations inside the home.
Sanders was arrested and charged with aggravated arson.
