Teenage inmate accused of starting fire in his Beaufort County Detention Center cell

A Beaufort County Detention Center inmate is accused of setting fire to objects in his holding cell on the eve of his 18th birthday.

Darryl Bradley, 18, of St. Helena Island faces a felony charge of second degree arson in connection with an incident on Aug. 5, according to Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Bob Bromage.

Bradley was initially incarcerated in April on several felony charges in connection with the sexual assault of a St. Helena Island woman. He was charged with arson on Thursday and bond was set at $25,000 on Friday, but he will remain incarcerated as he was denied bond on charges connected with the April offenses.

The man was inside a holding cell in the jail’s pre-classification area when he allegedly set fire to pieces of paper by inserting them into an electrical outlet around 10:45 p.m., Bromage said Monday afternoon. Bradley also allegedly damaged his mattress with the fire and slid the burning papers into an adjacent holding cell housing two other inmates who were under the age of 18.

The fire was extinguished by the time a deputy arrived, but there was still “light smoke” in the air as Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department investigated, according to a Sheriff’s Office report filed at the time. No injuries were reported.

This story was originally published August 21, 2017 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Teenage inmate accused of starting fire in his Beaufort County Detention Center cell."