Tenn. Fire Likely Started by Man Found Dead Inside
Source The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.
Dec. 31--KNOXVILLE -- A fire early Saturday at a boarded-up East Knoxville convenience store was apparently set by a person who was found dead inside the building after the blaze was extinguished, according to a Knoxville Fire Department spokesman.
The man found inside the former Bi-Lo Market at 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. has been identified as India Gourley, 28, according to KFD spokesman Capt. D.J. Corcoran.
A passerby alerted authorities to the fire shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday.
Cause of death for the man has not been released.
"Arson investigators have determined that the fire was a set fire, more than likely by the deceased after gaining entry into the structure," according to a statement today by Corcoran.
The Bi-Lo was shut down by the city in June and has since been marked with "No Trespassing" signs posted around the property.
Knox County Criminal Court Judge Bob McGee issued the nuisance injunction closing the building based on several controlled purchases of synthetic marijuana and drug paraphernalia that the Knoxville Police Department's Repeat Offender Squad made inside the business since May 1, according to authorities.
Officers also had answered more than 300 calls for service at the market since January 2009, for reports that included robberies, burglaries and assaults, according to the news release.
More details as they develop online and in Tuesday's News Sentinel.
Copyright 2012 - The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.
