Who is Leslie Winchester? Tennessee 'FIREFIGHTER OF THE YEAR' arrested for serial arson
WAVERLY, TENNESSEE: Leslie Roy Winchester, 19, of Waverly was arrested after admitting to the Humphreys County Sheriff's Office that he was responsible for starting fires in the area, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) said. The buildings damaged in the six fires included a church, a Masonic lodge, a former fire hall, and a vacant house, according to authorities.
The Humphreys County Fire Department responded to a call from Jennifer's Discount Gifts & Furniture on Friday, July 8. After the fire was extinguished, county officials contacted the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) for assistance in investigating a series of fires in the area that began on June 13. TBI investigators eventually linked the six fires to Winchester, who was a Humphreys County volunteer firefighter. When questioned, he admitted to starting the fires and explained that he had used gasoline to ignite Jennifer's Discount Gifts & Furniture, WSMV-TV reported.
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The first fire linked to Winchester happened on June 13 in the 5500 block of Bakerville Road in Waverly, the TBI said. Winchester admitted to investigators that he set the fire by throwing a lit cigarette into the front door. The disgraced firefighter also admitted to lighting an abandoned house on fire with lighter fluid on June 29. Besides, he also confessed to lighting a garbage can on fire at the Humphreys County Fire Station District 5 by igniting a piece of paper inside.
Four other suspicious fires occurred between July 1 and July 8 at various locations in the area. Some of the fires that Winchester admitted to also resulted in the injuries of two fire personnel, WSMV-TV reported. Bobby Rich, a firefighter, was injured on July 3 while responding to a blaze at the Glenwood Church of Christ, which Winchester claimed he started with gasoline on the back door. On Wednesday, July 6, firefighter Jennifer Steward was also injured at the Cotton Valley Masonic Lodge, which he also claimed he ignited with gasoline.
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Investigators identified the volunteer firefighter as the suspect and charged him with three counts of aggravated arson, three counts of arson, six counts of criminal trespassing, and six counts of vandalism over $10,000. He was booked into the Humphreys County Jail on a $1,746,000 bond. Winchester was awarded firefighter of the year in December 2021 by Humphreys County, the station reported. Waverly is located about 66 miles west of Nashville.