An Abbeville man is in jail and accused of stealing meat from his cousin’s home and then setting the home on fire. He is facing charges of arson and burglary.
According to David Dysons family, the house that burned down belonged to his cousin Sherman Fruge, who wasn’t home because he is living with his mother while he fights cancer.
"It makes me feel bad, it wasn’t right. It wasn’t right for my people to go on my property and do nothing like that," Fruge said.
Fruge said he woke up on Wednesday morning to learn his home was in flames.
"I’m sad sweetie, it hurt me to my heart about my house. That’s the only place I had. After I got well I was going to go back home. You know that’s wrong for him to do something like that," Fruge said.
Fruge’s mother Ethel Harris owns the house and has been taking care of her son during his illness. She says she will make sure he has somewhere o go once he is in better health.
"It hurts me to my heart to see that he doesn’t have his house. we are going to put him another one on there. They think it’s going to be an empty lot but it’s not. I will put him another one on," Harris said.
Investigators used surveillance from nearby cameras to make an arrest. Fruge’s sister Stephanie Rogers said neighbors stood outside and watched the house burn, but didn’t tell them.
"They could have come and told us the house was on fire, but nobody came and now they’re thinking we had something to do with that. Although that was my mom nephew, we aint had nothing to do with that. We didn’t know until I ran outside and saw the house burning, we didn’t know nothing," Rogers said.
Fruge’s mother denies neighbors claims that the fire was intentionally set saying she and her family would never do anything like that. The State Fire Marshal is still investigating.
