BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — A man has been arrested and charged with setting a fire inside the Walmart Supercenter on Lakeshore Parkway in Homewood last month.
Mercutio Southall, 40, was arrested Sunday and charged with first-degree arson, first-degree criminal mischief and possession of a controlled substance. Southall’s arrest stems from a fire that took place at the Homewood Walmart on Aug. 22. At the time, Sgt. Mark Trippe said the fire started from a burning shopping cart being pushed into the store while customers were inside. The fire was large enough that it set off the alarm and caused the building to be evacuated. No one was hurt in the fire.
According to Trippe, Southall allegedly set the fire after being involved in a protest in downtown Homewood over the death of Jabari Peoples, a teenager who was shot during a confrontation with a police officer back in June. Southall reportedly went to the Walmart after being involved at a protest at the Soccer Park, where Peoples was killed.
“Southall then leaves the Soccer Park and travels to Walmart on Lakeshore Parkway, where he fills up a shopping cart full of rags, blankets, charcoal bags, small engine fuel, and paint thinner,” Trippe said in a press release. “Southall then pre-positions the shopping cart in a clothing aisle and returns to the mass protest at the Homewood Soccer Park. When the large group leaves the Soccer Park to go to downtown Homewood, Southall is seen driving back to Walmart on Lakeshore Parkway, where he facilitates the ignition of the fire inside the store, causing a mass evacuation.”
Trippe said the fire caused over $130,000 in damage at the Walmart store, which was closed the rest of the day.
Southall was previously charged with murder back in 2019, but the case was dismissed after a judge ruled that he acted in self-defense.
Southall is being held at the Jefferson County Jail on $25,000 bond.
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