Deputies with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said they responded on March 30 and March 31 to multiple reports of fires in the Guntown area near County Road 2346 and County Road 2442.
The sheriff’s office said investigators determined three separate fires were intentionally set. One blaze burned approximately 25 acres of property belonging to a Lee County resident, including wooded areas. A second fire destroyed a John Deere 240DLC excavator located near County Road 2442, the office said.
Through the course of the investigation, deputies identified and arrested Justen Stroud, 37, of the Guntown area, the sheriff’s office said. Stroud was charged with third-degree arson. A Lee County Justice Court judge set bond at $50,000, the sheriff’s office said.
The investigation remains ongoing, and the sheriff’s office said additional charges may be filed as more information becomes available. This is a developing story and will be updated as more details emerge.
Jon Ross Myers founded Mississippi News Group in 2013. Before founding the organization, he worked at The Daily Mississippian, The Marion Salute and The Southern Sentinel. A Mississippi journalist and writer based in Ripley, he received second place in poetry in the 2025 William Faulkner Literary Competition for "The Garden."
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