Arrest Made in Martins Creek Community Fire Investigation

Cherokee County Sheriff's Office

Press Release

An arrest has been made following a months-long investigation into a series of intentionally set fires in the Martins Creek Community.

On Tuesday, March 10, 2026, investigators with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Murphy Police Department, the North Carolina Forest Service, and the Georgia Forest Service arrested Kevin James Roper, 48 of Blairsville, Georgia, in connection with multiple fires that were deliberately set in wooded and brush areas near the North Carolina–Georgia state line.

Roper has been charged with ten counts of intentionally setting fire to grass, brushlands, and woodlands.

The investigation began in late December 2025 after several suspicious fires were reported along Tate Road, an area that straddles the state line between Cherokee County, North Carolina, and Union County, Georgia. Due to the location of the incidents and the nature of the fires, the North Carolina Forest Service and Georgia Forest Service initiated a joint investigation.

Additional fires were reported in February 2026 in the Martins Creek Community. On February 22, 2026, deputies with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office responded to one of the fires as part of the ongoing investigation.

On March 10, 2026, the North Carolina Forest Service and the Georgia Forest Service requested assistance from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and Murphy Police Department in taking Roper into custody.

Investigators with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office made contact with Roper, who was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Cherokee County Detention Center.

This investigation involved close coordination between multiple agencies, including the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Murphy Police Department, North Carolina Forest Service, and Georgia Forest Service.

Sheriff Wood stated “Intentionally setting fires is not a prank and it’s not a minor offense. 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. We will not tolerate reckless actions that threaten the safety of our citizens and our land.”

Roper was released after posting a $25,000.00 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in Cherokee County District Court on April 7, 2026.

The investigation remains ongoing.

All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.