While two people stand accused of burning a Mount Airy church in late July, the overall culprit is “undisciplined juveniles” in the view of the city detective who investigated the crime.

Detective Tim Hodges added Monday that more individuals likely will be arrested as the probe continues, citing the presence of a group of teens in the vicinity of Closer Walk Baptist Church on Roberts Road when the fire occurred.

The blaze, which was set after the church was broken into, caused $175,000 in damages in the early morning hours of July 26, forcing the congregation to seek a new meeting place.

Christopher Blake Harrell, 19, of 115 Sassy Lane, and Ryan Rakeem Belton, 18, of 310 Marshall St., are the two persons arrested so far by Mount Airy police along with the State Bureau of Investigation.

Harrell and Belton are charged with two felonies: burning a church or religious building and breaking and entering a place of worship. They were confined in the Surry County Jail in lieu of a $25,000 bond each.

The detective reported last week that several individuals “of interest” had been located by investigators in the area of the fire soon after it occurred, and those contacts eventually led to Harrell and Belton being implicated. Hodges added that a number of youths were found circulating in the area that morning.

“So we started calling these people in,” the detective said. In all, about 10 to 13 youths were interviewed concerning their possible involvement in the case, culminating in the arrests of Harrell and Blake.

“I think they’ll be others (charged),” Hodges said of the additional arrests and juvenile petitions expected to be issued sometime this week before the close of the investigation.

Also as part of the probe, Belton’s mother, Tammy Lynn Tinsley, 40, of 310 Marshall St., has been arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor offense. Tinsley allegedly had provided alcohol and (marijuana) rolling papers to those involved in the incident, Hodges said. She has been released under a $500 unsecured bond.

However, in saying the church fire was a result of “undisciplined juveniles,” Hodges blamed parents of the various teens who apparently had been allowed to freely roam the streets on the night in question without supervision.

Harrell, Belton and Tinsley are scheduled to appear in Surry District Court on Aug. 13.

Pastor “Hurt”

Doug Cockerham, the pastor of Closer Walk Baptist Church, had a mixed reaction Monday to the arrests made so far.

“Well, I was glad, and then I was sad, too, after I found out who they were,” Cockerham said, explaining that at least one of the alleged offenders had attended Sunday school and other activities at the church.

“I was over there two weeks ago trying to get them to come to Bible school,” the pastor said of a recent visit to that youth’s home.

Cockerham said another troubling aspect of the teens’ involvement was the fact that they were at the scene while the fire was being extinguished, expressing their sympathy to him and how bad they hated that it had happened.

“I’m hurt,” he admitted, “but what can I say?”

Meanwhile, the incident has not kept the church from moving forward, according to the pastor. The congregation is holding services on a temporary basis in the Franklin Ruritan Club building on N.C. 89 West, but is preparing to rebuild its church at the Roberts Road location.

“I’m fixing to meet with a contractor,” Cockerham added Monday.

Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.