Arson destroyed South Carolina school in 1996. Overlooked fingerprint leads to arrest
In 1996, James Scott Harris was a 17-year-old junior at Macedonia High School outside Charleston, South Carolina. On Aug. 4 of that year, a fire destroyed the Lowcountry school.
An overlooked fingerprint in the investigation led Berkeley County investigators this week to arrest Harris, now 40, charging him with arson and burglary.
Sheriff Duane Lewis said vandalism likely led to fires that ended up completely destroying the school building.
“We believe based on the evidence at the scene, that there’s additional suspects out there that are still on the loose,” the sheriff said at a press conference announcing the arrest Wednesday.
“If you know something about this individual, if you know something about who his friends were at the time, and who he was hanging around with or if you’ve heard that they were at the school at the time with a fire, please call us,” Lewis said.
“This school represented the community,” the sheriff said. “They see it totally destroyed on that Aug. 4 night, it really affected people.”
Janie Langley, who was principal of Macedonia Middle School at the time, spoke at the sheriff’s press conference.
“That school was a heart for a wonderful community, wonderful people that came together for their children to be educated,” she said. “For our school to be burned, it broke our hearts.”
Lewis said he had his cold case team reopen the investigation two years ago. “This was a long process,” he said.
Berkeley County School Board Chair Sally Wofford was in the last graduating class at Macedonia High School before it burned.
She described the vaulted ceilings and hardwood floors. “When I close my eyes and think about school, I think about those floors, and those ceilings, and all the times that we had there,” Wofford said.
“I pray this brings closure to a lot of people,” she said.
