Arson investigated at neo-Nazi's LaFayette home

photo Walter Mac Waters Jr.

Someone entered a neo-Nazi's LaFayette, Ga., home, lit a mattress and two couches on fire and ran away.

Police are not sure who the arsonist is -- maybe an enemy of white supremacist Walter Mac Waters Jr., or maybe an ally, trying to cover his friend's tracks.

The State Fire Marshal's Office, which investigated the arson Friday, is offering up to $10,000 to anyone who has information about the fire. Callers can remain anonymous, spokesman Glen Allen said.

The fire marshal's investigation came 10 days after someone set the fire at 601 Culberson Ave. The reason for the delay was a misunderstanding about the homeowner's phone number.

LaFayette detective Sgt. Wesley Steele said Waters' father, Walter Mac Waters Sr., told him investigators were welcome to look through the house whenever they wanted. He gave Steele his phone number on the day of the fire, and they planned to meet again with the fire marshal's investigator later that week.

But when Steele called -- four times, he said -- nobody picked up; nobody called back.

The fire marshal's investigator showed up at the house Sept. 10, the day after the fire, expecting to sift through the crime scene. Nobody let him in.

Waters Sr. finally called Steele this week, asking why he hadn't heard from the detective. Confused, Steele realized that he had written Waters Sr.'s number down wrong. He was off by one digit.

"He saw me write down the number," Steele said. "He never said that was the wrong number. It seems like I repeated the number to him."

By law, investigators could not go inside without Waters Sr.'s permission or a warrant. Steele said he could have picked up a warrant instead of waiting for the homeowner.

"But the process would have taken a lot longer," he said. "It wouldn't have been hard to get a warrant. But it's a lot of paperwork, unnecessary paperwork. We had consent from the owner. I knew that from the beginning."

He doesn't think the 10-day gap between the fire and the investigation will hurt the case. He also doesn't think anybody has sneaked into the house since the fire. He said a woman across the street is watching for intruders.

A month before the fire started, members of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force arrested Waters Jr. and his wife, Lacey Siobhan Waters. Task Force Commander Patrick Doyle said they are charged with participating in an international narcotics ring, importing and exporting drugs.

Doyle would not say what countries the couple allegedly are connected to, only that they weren't working with any Mexican drug runners. He said investigators found illegal prescription drugs and steroids and $125,000 in cash when they searched the couple's house, storage unit, car and safe.

Waters Jr. has been an outspoken proponent of neo-Nazi ideology. He runs a website for the Aryan Kindred Church of Yahweh.

"Stop letting your children listen to jungle rap music and your daughters lay with the beast of the field," he wrote on a popular local blog.

Waters Sr. told Steele the arsonist probably set the house on fire out of anger because of his son's beliefs. Steele said he has no evidence to support that.

Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at tjett@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6476.

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