Sumter man charged after neighbor’s home burns

A 62-year-old Sumter man was charged with arson, 3rd degree, after a he was allegedly seen leaving his next-door neighbor’s home just as smoke was seen coming from the structure.

Leon Franklin Lewis was taken into custody at his home only after his sister, who owned the property, opened the trailer for police, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

Authorities were called to the scene on the 4100 block of St. Mark’s Circle in Sumter at 9:02 p.m. Tuesday.

The victim returned home to find her house on fire and called the fire department. She told fire investigators that when she got home, she saw a long string of what appeared to be toilet paper stretching from her front yard into the house.

A witness told investigators that he saw Lewis leave the house and then noticed smoke coming from inside. Lewis, he said, walked next door to his trailer, went inside and turned the lights off.

Lewis’ landlord, his sister, was called to unlock the trailer when Lewis did not respond to knocks on the door.

Lewis was being held at the Sumter-Lee Detention Center Wednesday afternoon.