FLINT, Mich. – Sonja L. Settles, 50, and Billy J. Chambers, 63, both of Flint, were arraigned last week on a second superseding indictment that introduces new firearm and ammunition charges in addition to their existing arson-related allegations concerning the St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church fire, announced United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr.
James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) Detroit Field Division, joined in the announcement.
The updated indictment charges Settles with being a felon in possession of a firearm, while Chambers faces a charge of being a felon in possession of ammunition.
According to court records, on the early morning of August 30, 2025, Settles and Chambers communicated by phone. Shortly thereafter, at approximately 2:03 a.m., Chambers walked from a nearby field east of the church to the St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church. He surveyed the area where the fire would later be ignited.
Chambers then returned to the field and came back around 2:11 a.m. carrying an object in his right hand, which he used to break a church window before retreating again to the field.
About a minute later, Chambers returned carrying a piece of cloth and a red gasoline can concealed inside a black garbage bag. He poured gasoline through the broken window, placed the cloth in the opening, and added more gasoline inside the church.
At approximately 2:13 a.m., Chambers discarded the gasoline can, still inside the garbage bag, in the nearby field. Three minutes later, around 2:16 a.m., he returned carrying a device used to ignite fires. Chambers lit the device and set the gasoline ablaze, causing the church fire.
Around 2:20 a.m., roughly four minutes after the fire started, Chambers called Settles. Phone records show Chambers’ cellphone connected to a tower less than half a mile from the church, while Settles’ phone connected to another nearby tower in the church vicinity.
The Flint Fire Department responded promptly and extinguished the blaze, which caused approximately $350,000 in damage. The church was unable to hold regular worship services for about two months while repairs were undertaken.
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Flint Arson Suspects Face Additional Firearm and Ammunition Charges in St. Mark Church Case Two Flint residents previously charged with arson in connection to the St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church fire have been arraigned on a second superseding indictment that adds firearm and ammunition possession charges.... Read the full WLF article: https://worldlawyersforum.org/news/flint-arson-suspects-face-additional-firearm-and-ammunition-charges-in-st-mark-church-case