An Indianola man has been arrested for felony arson, following a structural fire two weekends ago.
Romeius Rennaill Townsend, 40, has been arrested and charged with first-degree arson in connection with a fire that occurred at a pool hall on Hannah Avenue on March 22.
According to a booking report obtained from the Sunflower County jail, Townsend was arrested by the Indianola Police Department on March
25 at 2:28 p.m. .
The arrest was linked to an incident that occurred on the same date as the fire reported at 200 Hannah Avenue.
The Indianola Fire Department responded to a structural fire at the pool hall at 10:54 p.m. on March 22.
Firefighters arrived to find a blaze engulfing the one-story building, which features wood and metal siding. The incident report indicates that the fire was successfully contained to the structure.
Townsend has been charged under statute "97-17-1 - Arson - First Degree," a felony offense.
He was booked into the Sunflower County Jail at 3:37 p.m. on March 25, with Officer Sean Murphy listed as the booking officer. The report notes that Townsend has had two previous bookings.
As of now, no bond has been set, and Townsend may also be wanted for parole violations.
The building’s owner, Lamorris Strong, told The Enterprise-Tocsin during an interview this week that the suspect approached him by phone from prison a few months back, asking if he could stay at the address if released.
Strong said that he agreed, with the condition that Townsend would work for him.
Strong said that at first he did do some work, but after some time, the work stopped, and he had informed Townsend that he needed to find another place to live within two weeks.
Strong said that he plans to level the structure and either use it for parking or erect a metal building in its place.
Details regarding the case number and court date are still pending. Authorities have not yet released information about the cause of the fire, and the Sunflower County Sheriff's Department is assisting with the investigation.
