CHEROKEE COUNTY, NC — A Georgia man is facing charges in two states after investigators say he intentionally set multiple fires near the North Carolina–Georgia state line.
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According to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina, investigators arrested Kevin James Roper, 48, of Blairsville, on Tuesday following a months-long investigation into a series of suspicious fires in the Martins Creek community of Cherokee County, NC.
Authorities say Roper has been charged in North Carolina with 10 felony counts of intentionally setting fire to grasslands, brushlands and woodlands.
The investigation began in late December 2025 after several suspicious fires were reported along Tate Road, which runs along the border between Cherokee County, NC, and Union County, Ga..
Because of the fires’ location and suspicious nature, the North Carolina Forest Service and the Georgia Forestry Commission launched a joint investigation.
Officials say more fires were reported in the Martins Creek community in February. Deputies responded to one of those fires on Feb. 22 as part of the ongoing investigation.
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On March 10, investigators with the forest service agencies requested assistance from the sheriff’s office and the Murphy Police Department to take Roper into custody. Authorities say investigators made contact with Roper in Murphy, NC, where he was arrested and booked into the Cherokee County Detention Center.
Officials say the Georgia Forestry Commission has also charged Roper with seven additional counts of arson related to fires set on land in Georgia.
Cherokee County Sheriff Dustin Smith Wood said intentionally setting fires is a serious crime that puts lives at risk.
Because of the fires’ location and Wood said. “These crimes endanger lives, destroy property and put firefighters and innocent families at serious risk. Anyone who deliberately sets a fire in this community will be pursued aggressively and held fully accountable under the law.”
Authorities say Roper later posted a $25,000 secured bond and was released from custody. He is scheduled to appear in Cherokee County District Court on April 7.
Investigators say the case remains ongoing.
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