FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — On September 26, Dillon McDonald, 27, was arrested for allegedly threatening to burn down St. James Baptist Church.
According to a preliminary report, Fayetteville police responded to 764 W. North Street at approximately 9:04 a.m. to a call stating that a white male had threatened to burn down the church.
A responding officer found a “smoldering pile” in the north parking lot, but the suspect was not in the area. The officer then saw “a white male matching the description come out by the air conditioning units behind Circle K.” That man then “used the poles and electrical boxes to shimmy up onto the flat roof of the building.”
Officers asked him to get down and he told them that he was “on the roof to bundle cable.” Police described him as “very hyperactive” and said he “spoke a lot and rapidly, and used his hands.” He admitted setting the items in the parking lot on fire, but then said “the fire had already started.”
He then added that “he had dragged it away from the building.” The responding officer saw a “drag trail leading from the church to the smoldering pile.”
McDonald denied using drugs or alcohol. He discussed his mental state, but refused an ambulance. Police said he had “a very strong odor of alcohol and burnt smell on him.”
He was arrested for criminal trespass and public intoxication. Officers then spoke with the person that called the incident in, who said that Dillon approached her and asked if the location was “a black church.” He then told her he was going to “burn this sucker down.”
McDonald had a fire started inside a blanket belonging to a U-Haul business north of the church. The business said that he took their “mulch and small shrubs and started a fire.” When they asked him about the fire, he “rolled it in the blanket and left towards the church.”
With the assistance of the Fayetteville Fire Department, officers searched the roof of the Circle K and found a small baggie of psilocybin mushrooms weighing 5.4 grams.
McDonald was transported to the police department but refused to speak with detectives. He was then booked into the Washington County jail and charged with terroristic threatening, possession of a controlled substance, criminal trespass, public intoxication and open burning without a permit.
He has a hearing scheduled for September 28 and another court appearance set for October 28. His bond has been set at $5,000.