Report: St. Helena man threatened to rape neighbor’s wife, set his house on fire

A 55-year-old St. Helena Island man has been arrested after he allegedly set fire to a section of grass belonging to a neighbor on Sunday, the day after several acres of grass were reported burned nearby, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

Richard Byas is charged with felony third degree arson, according to online Beaufort County Detention Center records. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of public disorderly conduct. His bond had not been set by early Monday afternoon.

Byas allegedly threatened to “kill him (the victim), rape his wife and burn his house down” after the victim confronted him about being on his Kiwi Lane property, according to the report. He then allegedly bent down and set the corner of the victim’s property on fire and walked away into the woods toward Dulamo Road. Approximately 100 square yards had been burned and reached within about 6 feet of a propane tank and wooden fence on the victim’s property.

Another witness told deputies she recorded the incident on video and would submit that to the Sheriff’s Office as evidence, according to the report. The dispute between the victim and the suspect has allegedly been ongoing for about 30 years.

When a deputy found Byas, he was “grossly intoxicated” and stumbling along Dulamo Road holding two 40-ounce beers and a lighter, according to another Sheriff’s Office report. He allegedly kept making motions like he was about to pour beer on the deputy while saying over and over again that he had lighter fluid. His public disorderly conduct charge stemmed from his reported actions here. The deputy eventually knocked the beer out of his hand and held him there until backup arrived.

When deputies tried to interview him about what happened on Kiwi Lane, he allegedly repeated statements such as “I set it on fire” and “It’s on fire” without elaborating or answering questions clearly, according to the report.

A report also was made on Saturday after several intentional fires had been set to the grass around the same area and flames came close to a structure at least three times, according to the report. By Monday afternoon, Byas was not charged in connection with those fires but is named as a suspect by witnesses in other recent reports of arson in the area.

This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 1:34 PM with the headline "Report: St. Helena man threatened to rape neighbor’s wife, set his house on fire."