BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Police arrested an Inez man who is one of three suspected of setting a fire on the prayer altar on God’s Promise Trail in Inez.
The incident occurred around dusk June 7 on the scenic trail and was captured on video.
On Monday evening Chief Deputy Chris Kidd of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office arrested 24-year-old Devin Morris in connection with the incident.
Sheriff John Kirk said Morris also climbed a radio tower, tore down a Martin County 911 Dispatch camera that recorded the crime, and threw the camera down a hill.
Morris is charged with setting a fire on land he does not own, desecration of venerated objects, criminal mischief and criminal trespassing.
When confronted, Morris admitted he and two others had driven to the location and consumed alcohol. He allegedly stated he thought the camera was non-functional.
“We told him we had him on video and that there was no use in denying it,” Kirk said. “He admitted that he tore the camera down and threw it over the hill. He thought it was a dummy camera. But every bit of this was recorded – the fire on the altar.”
The mile-long God’s Promise Trail, starting at the Collier Community Center, is a scenic and spiritual walking path featuring 180 wooden steps up the steep hillside. Along the way, there is a small church-style gazebo, a historic schoolhouse, a prayer box, and the altar at the top of the hill.
The trail features native flora, inspirational messages and Bible verses, as well as workout activity centers, rest areas and scenic views.
Considered a treasure by residents, the trail was inspired by the late Lillian Davis Bowman, a longtime Martin County school teacher who fought cancer and whose family helped realize her vision posthumously.
“A lot of the work that was done on God’s Promise Trail was volunteer work. Hard work went into it,” remarked Sheriff Kirk. “God’s Promise Trail holds sentimental value and is a treasured community asset. For someone to set the altar on fire, even though it’s a stone altar, is very disrespectful.”
The sheriff stated his position.
“This behavior will not be accepted. We’re going to do our job. We’re going to prosecute these people to the fullest extent of the law,” he said. “Hopefully, the court system will give them about 500 hours of community service and they can go up there and pay their debt to society for what they’ve done.”