Woman in US on Visa Charged in AL Church Fire
By Carol Robinson
Source al.com
An Auburn woman in the U.S. on a student visa is now charged federally with setting fire to a historic Montgomery church last week.
Xiaoqin Yan, 27, is charged with second-degree arson in state court. On Friday, Middle District of Alabama Acting U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Stewart announced the federal charge against Yan.
“An individual violates Section 844(i) if she or he maliciously damages or destroys, or attempts to damage or destroy, by means of fire or an explosive, any building, vehicle, or other real or personal property used in interstate or foreign commerce or in any activity affecting interstate or foreign commerce,” according to a statement issued by Stewart.
Yan was initially arrested Oct. 4. Her bond has been increased in state court from $30,000 to $150,000.
Authorities have not provided a motive in the fires. The affidavit states that Yan was captured on surveillance footage setting the fires
According to charging documents against Yan, she used an “open flame to ignite an ignitable liquid,” causing $25,000 in damage to First Baptist Church on Perry Street.
Yan is a citizen of China who is in the U.S. on a student visa. Her visa has now been revoked.
If convicted, Yan is facing a prison sentence of not less than five years and not more than 20 years. There is no parole in the federal system.
The fire was discovered shortly before 3 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, at the South Perry Street Church.
Pastor Mark L. Bethea posted on Facebook that the fires were started in the sanctuary and the historic Stakely Sanctuary. Firefighters, he said, arrived quickly and minimized what he said could have been a catastrophic event.
Bethea said the blaze destroyed several pews and damaged the carpet in the sanctuary and did some damage to the carpet in the Stakely Sanctuary. There was smoke and soot throughout the church and the reception office was destroyed.
The investigation was carried out by the Montgomery Fire and Rescue, the Montgomery Police Department, ATF, the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Auburn Police Department.
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