State mulls whether to prosecute arson case

The S.C. Attorney General's Office has not yet determined if it will prosecute 37-year-old Ricky Brannon on arson charges in connection with the May 11, 2004, Cherokee County Courthouse fire.

There are a couple of factors that will weigh into that decision, one of them being whether Brannon elects to appeal a life sentence for a burglary conviction Thursday, said Mark Plowden, spokesman for the S.C. Attorney General's Office. Brannon has 10 days to appeal the conviction.

The attorney general's office will also consider the cost to taxpayers to prosecute Brannon, Plowden said.

A Cherokee County General Sessions jury found Brannon guilty Thursday of 1st-degree burglary and grand larceny. He was acquitted on one count of 1st-degree burglary.

Brannon was scheduled to appear in court on those burglary charges during the week of the courthouse fire. Brannon, who has six

prior convictions for 1st-degree burglary, had been served with notice that the Seventh Circuit Solicitor's Office was planning to seek life in prison under the "three strikes" law.

Brannon was arrested in October 2004 and charged with 2nd-degree arson, 2nd-degree burglary and grand larceny in connection with the May fire that caused more than $600,000 in damage to the Cherokee County Courthouse. The solicitor's office was gutted and the General Sessions courtroom and Family Court area were damaged.

Brannon's list of prior convictions includes a 20-year sentence for four counts of 1stdegree burglary, two counts of arson, three counts of grand larceny, and one count each of breaking into an auto and accessory after the fact. He was convicted in 1991 and served 11 of those 20 years.

Brannon has also been convicted of two counts of 2nd-degree burglary, possession of stolen goods, grand larceny, escape and indecent exposure. His rap sheet dates back to 1985 when he was convicted of grand larceny and storebreaking and sentenced as a youthful offender.