Sumter, SC (WLTX) -- A Sumter man faces arson charges after he was seen leaving a home that caught fire Tuesday night here.
The homeowner told Sumter County Sheriff Deputies she arrived home to find her house on fire. She says there was a long white trail running from her front yard into her living room, to a chair.
A witness to the start of the fire told Deputies he saw Leon Franklin Lewis exiting the home and go into his trailer, turning off all the lights in his home. The witness told Deputies that soon after he noticed smoke coming from inside the victim's house.
Emergency crews responded to the home to put the fire out, and on-call arson investigators were requested to assist.
Deputies reported that despite a number of attempts to contact the suspect, Lewis would not answer his door, so they requested the assistance of his landlord, who is also his sister.
She entered the trailer to check on Lewis, and a short time later Lewis came to speak with Investigators at the door. He was placed under arrest for arson soon after, and transported to the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center.
