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WEBVTT JANE: GREENWOOD COUNTY DEPUTIES SAY SOMEONE INTENTIONALLY SET A FIRE AT A WALMART. AND THEY NEED YOUR HELP IDENTIFYING THE PERSON THEY BELIEVE IS RESPONSIBLE. DEPUTIES SAY THIS MAN WALKED INTO THE GREENWOOD WALMART LAST NIGHT AT MIDNIGHT. THEY SAY HE SET A CLOTHING RACK ON FIR THEN HE JOINED THE EVACUATING CROWD AND LEFT THE STORE. AT THIS POINT, DEPUTIES SAY THEY DON’T HAVE A MOTIVE. ANYONE WITH INFORMATION IS ASKED

Advertisement Greenwood man sets fire inside Walmart to steal beer, solicitor says Russell William Geddings, 34, pleaded guilty Tuesday Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A Greenwood man received the maximum sentence allowed under the law after he set a clothing rack on fire inside a Walmart so he could steal a few beers, 8th Circuit Solicitor David M. Stumbo announced.>>>Download the WYFF News 4 app Russell William Geddings, 34, pleaded guilty Tuesday afternoon to charges of third-degree arson and malicious injury to personal property. Circuit Judge Donald Hocker then sentenced Geddings to 15 years in prison for the arson charge and 10 years in prison on the malicious injury to personal property charge, suspended to five years of probation. The sentences are to run consecutively.(Video above: Archive video before Geddings was identified)Investigators said that on Dec. 5, 2018, Geddings went to the Walmart store located at 508 Bypass 72 NW and started a fire on a clothing rack in the men’s section of the store before fleeing the scene. Investigators circulated a surveillance photo through Crime Stoppers and a witness told investigators that she had spotted Geddings at the Greenwood Commissioners of Public Works building.Related: Man who set Walmart clothing rack on fire in custody Deputies ask for help identifying man who set clothing rack on fire at Upstate WalmartInvestigators were able to confirm it had been Geddings at CPW and apprehended him without incident. Geddings told investigators he set the fire as a diversion tactic while he stole a case of beer from the store, Stumbo said. Walmart reported the fire did about $1.2 million in damage to merchandise in the store. “It is shocking to me that this man would put innocent lives at risk and destroy property just so he could steal a few beers,” Stumbo said after the sentencing. “I am satisfied knowing that he will not be able to victimize the people of this community in such a manner for many years to come.”