A local man is facing arson charges following a brush fire in a wooded area.
Christopher Donyell Garnett, 39, of Aiken, was arrested and charged on April 19 with third-degree arson and possession of less than 1 gram of methamphetamine or cocaine base, according to jail records.
Around 1:05 p.m. deputies with the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of Pipeline Road and Sandy Lane to assist the Aiken Department of Public Safety with a brush fire, according to an incident report from the sheriff’s office.
Police were notified that the fire was suspicious in nature, the report said.
Police spoke with a complainant who said he was staying in the woods with his girlfriend, and they identified the suspect.
The complainants said the suspect approached their tent and poured gasoline around it, the report said.
The complainants were not inside the tent, but their clothes were destroyed, the report said.
Garnett left the scene and one of the complainants told police she knew the suspect and gave them an address, the report said.
Once police located the suspect, it was determined he had an active warrant for an unrelated charged and detained him, the report said.
Garnett was arrested and booked as an inmate at the Aiken County detention center.
Garnett has a $5,000 bond.