MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A grand jury indicted a man on multiple charges for allegedly setting a deadly fire at a Memphis rooming house in May 2020.
Jerry Lee Sanders, 57, is in jail on $500,000 bond.
According to the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office, Sanders was arguing with another resident, 54-year-old Gerald Fowler, about a lawnmower when he ordered Fowler to leave. When Fowler refused, Sanders doused the kitchen and Fowler’s bedroom door with gasoline, then lit a paper towel and dropped it on the floor.
The DA’s office says firefighters got Fowler out but he died at the hospital from smoke inhalation.
Another resident escaped uninjured.
A grand jury indicted Sanders Tuesday for first-degree murder, aggravated arson and aggravated assault.
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