Man who set fires to distract Walmart workers as he shoplifted is arrested, SC cops say - The State

Anthony Kyseem Smith has been charged with shoplifting and arson. Travelers Rest Police Department

The shoplifter who set a fire in a South Carolina Walmart to distract employees was arrested Wednesday, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said.

After being apprehended by the Travelers Rest Police for crimes committed at a Walmart in the department’s jurisdiction, Anthony Kyseem Smith was charged by the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office for similar incidents at two other Walmart stores, according to a news release.

The 30-year-old was arrested hours after two separate fires were set in the Travelers Rest Walmart, and he was charged with second-degree arson and shoplifting, WHNS reported.

On Thursday, Smith was charged with second-degree arson and two counts of shoplifting for incidents that occurred on April 4 and April 8 in Greenville County Walmarts, the Sheriff’s Office said in the news release.

At the Travelers Rest Supercenter, Smith pushed a shopping cart full of electronics, including televisions and a sound bar, out of the store after starting the fires, according to WYFF.

It was the third arson reported at a South Carolina Walmart since December, The State reported. Smith has been charged with starting fires in two incidents, the Sheriff’s Office said.

On April 4, Smith set fire to clothes at a Greenville Walmart to distract employees while he shoplifted merchandise, according to the news release.

Smith was also charged with shoplifting from that same store on April 8, but arson was not involved in that incident, the Sheriff’s Office said in the release. He stole two hoverboards valued at $400, according to an arrest warrant.

Arrest warrants show Smith has multiple shoplifting convictions prior to these three incidents.

The Sheriff’s Office said Smith is being held by the Travelers Rest police, and there is no word when he will be transferred to the Greenville County Detention Center to face the most recent charges.

Another man set fire to a clothing rack inside a Greenwood Walmart on Dec. 5, and was arrested days later, the Index-Journal reported.

In April, a fire set in the Walmart on Harbison Boulevard in Columbia caused millions of dollars in damage. Columbia police charged two men with arson in that case.

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