Man already jailed for making bomb threats now also charged with arson

ONSLOW COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - A man who was already in jail for making bomb threats that forced the shutdown of an Onslow County highway has now also been charged with arson.

The Onslow County Sheriff’s Office says Kenneth Reynolds was charged Tuesday with felony first-degree arson and charged Wednesday with felony second-degree arson. He is jailed under a combined $1,607,000 bond awaiting court.

Deputies say Reynolds was originally arrested on May 20 for making bomb threats to the Furniture 4 Less business on Richlands Highway. Highway 258 had to be shut down for six hours while the SBI Bomb Squad looked for live explosives.

WITN is told the arson arrest is the result of an investigation into two suspicious structure fires on Angel Haven Lane outside of Richlands.

According to Cindy Bell of the sheriff’s office, the first fire was in December 2021 and the second fire was May 7th, less than two weeks before Reynolds was arrested for the bomb threats. The fire marshal determined both fires were acts of arson.

Deputies say they learned Reynolds had admitted himself into a nearby hospital for second-degree burns on the morning of the second fire.

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