He did a TV interview as a witness to a fire; The next day, he was charged with arson

A Bonaire man is accused of setting four fires, including one that destroyed his brother-in-law's mobile home.

Christopher Guilmette, 23, was arrested and charged Friday with four felony counts of arson related to the fires in the small Sandy-Run Crossing mobile home park off Ga. 247 where he lives.

Two of the fires were set on Jan. 31, a third on Feb. 14 and the fourth on Feb. 16.

It's unclear why Guilmette set the fires, said Houston County sheriff's Cpl. Pitt Chapman, who led the investigation with the help of the Houston County Fire Department.

Guilmette's brother-in-law was out of town when an intentionally-set grass fire spread to his mobile home, Chapman said.

The other fires were set in grassy, common areas within the mobile home park, Champan said. He declined to name the accelerant used to start the fires except to say that it was natural, organic based.

Guilmette was being held without bond Friday in the Houston County jail on the arson charges.

The day before his arrest, Guilmette gave a local television station an interview about the fire that gutted the mobile home — demonstrating how he'd pushed the door open after calling 911.

"I just hope that, whoever this person is, either you turn yourself in or they find the person," Guilmette told WMAZ-TV.

Sheriff's investigators talked with multiple people and were able to gather enough evidence to charge Guilmette, who was initially identified as a person of interest, Chapman said.

"We appreciate the community helping us and being open to giving us information which is always helpful for the sheriff's office," Chapman said.

If convicted, Guilmette faces one to 20 years in prison on each charge under Georgia law.

This story was originally published February 23, 2018 at 6:49 PM with the headline "He did a TV interview as a witness to a fire; The next day, he was charged with arson."