Saucier man charged with setting his own home on fire, assaulting police
A Saucier man is charged with setting his own house on fire and then attempting to strike police officers with a vehicle, according to a press release from the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department.
Mark Theodore Gaston, 62, of Saucier was charged on one count of arson and two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer and is being held on a $750,000 bond.
According to Sheriff Troy Peterson, deputies on patrol spotted a house fire on Bethel Road in Saucier on Tuesday night. When they pulled into the driveway, the homeowner, Gaston, was sitting inside his vehicle. Gaston then reportedly accelerated his vehicle towards the deputies and fled. No one was hurt in the incident.
A warrant was issued for Gaston’s arrest after deputies determined he had set his own house on fire. He was taken into custody on Martha Redmon Road in Saucier without incident.
Gaston is being held at the Harrison County Adult Detention Facility.
The house fire is one of two fires that happened in Saucier on Tuesday. The other is still under investigation.
