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ST. LOUIS - A 35-year-old man with an extensive criminal record was charged
on Friday in connection with a string of suspected arson fires at St. Louis-area
churches, police said.
David Lopez Jackson, 35, was charged with two counts of second-degree arson
in connection with fires set at the doors of two predominantly African-American
churches in St. Louis, police said. He is also a suspect in five other church
fires in St. Louis and a suburb since Oct. 8, according to police.
Jackson, who is black, has a long criminal record, including charges of
domestic assault, burglary, drug-related crimes, resisting arrest and assaulting
an officer, police said. He is being held on a $75,000 cash-only bond.
No one was injured in the small fires, which damaged the two Catholic and
five Protestant churches. Most have primarily black congregations, although the
Shrine of St. Joseph church has a mostly white congregation.
Based on the investigation so far, there was no indication of a hate crime,
or that any particular denomination or ethnic group was targeted, according to a
statement from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives.
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