Police accuse man of setting fire to mother’s house earlier this month on Lady’s Island

Sofia Sanchez
·2 min read

A 19-year-old turned himself in Thursday morning after police alleged he set fire to one of his mother’s homes on Lady’s Island earlier this month, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Christian Alexander Randall, of McConnells, a town in York County, South Carolina, was charged Thursday with second-degree arson, jail records show.

At about 6:45 p.m. on March 4, a neighbor called in to report a fire at a home on West River Drive within the Red Bluff neighborhood on Lady’s Island, said Maj. Angela Viens, a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. Additional details, including how the fire was started, were not immediately available. The home is a second residence belonging to Randall’s mother and no one was there at the time of the fire, Viens said.

No injuries were reported.

Scott Harris, a spokesperson with the Lady’s Island-St. Helena Fire District would not say how the fire was started because it is a “criminal issue.” But he said the damage to the home was “extensive.” Most of the fire was on the second floor of the home and, when firefighters arrived, smoke and flames could be seen showing through the roof. The house is “not habitable at this time,” Harris said.

A spokesperson from the S.C. Law Enforcement Division could not immediately be reached for comment.

Randall is awaiting trial after being charged in September 2022 for another fire at one of his mother’s properties. In that instance, Randall was charged with third-degree arson after being accused of setting a fire that burned a barn on the property.

When reached Sunday, Christopher A. Wellborn, Randall’s attorney in the York County case, said he is giving Randall legal advice in the Beaufort County case and had no other comment other than to say his client is not guilty.

Further charges for the March 4 fire are not expected at this time though the investigation is ongoing, Viens said.

Randall remained in custody at the Beaufort County Detention Center Sunday.