Man Indicted in Arson-Homicide Case

March 18, 2021 – A North Memphis man has been indicted on first-degree murder charges for allegedly setting fire to a rooming house last year which resulted in the death of another resident, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

A grand jury also indicted defendant Jerry Lee Sanders on counts of aggravated arson and aggravated assault. He is being held on $500,000 bond.

The incident occurred on May 24, 2020, in the 1100 block of Gerard Street where Sanders, 57, was in an argument with Gregory Fowler, 54, over a lawnmower.

Investigators said Sanders told Fowler to leave the residence and that when Fowler refused Sanders began dousing the kitchen and Fowler’s bedroom door with gasoline. Sanders then lit a paper towel and threw it on the gas-covered floor.

Firefighters managed to get Fowler out of the burning house, but he died later at a hospital. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death as smoke inhalation.

A female resident who was in the house escaped unharmed.

The case is being handled by Chief Prosecutor Stephanie Johnson of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 2 which prosecutes cases in General Sessions Division 9 and in Criminal Court Division 2.