WARREN COUNTY, Mo. – A Warren County, Missouri, man is in custody for allegedly starting a fire that destroyed a church and several vehicles.

According to a probable cause statement from the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, the fire was set on the morning of Tuesday, March 18, at Abundant Life Church in the 21000 block of Northwest Service Road. Deputies were alerted to the fire at approximately 11:20 a.m.

The Warrenton Fire Department and other firefighting agencies were dispatched to extinguish the blaze.

Once the fire was put out, deputies and fire officials surveyed the damage. The building was a total loss. The fire also destroyed three semi tractors, a work/utility truck, a school bus, an RV camper, a pull-behind camper, and a Conex box full of materials.

The severity of the damage prevented investigators from identifying anything else that might have been destroyed.

The sheriff’s department said a motion-activated trail camera on the property provided deputies with a lead on a suspect vehicle. The camera took multiple photographs of a white Dodge Durango leaving the church property approximately seven minutes before the first 911 call about the fire.

Investigators identified the Durango and located the vehicle at the home of Derek M. McMahon, 34.

Deputies allege McMahon admitted to using a book of matches to set the church fire, adding that he “gets an adrenaline rush” from setting fires.

The Warren County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged McMahon with two counts of second-degree arson and six counts of knowingly burning or exploding. McMahon remains jailed without bond. He’s due in court on Thursday, March 20.

McMahon has prior criminal history of similar activity in other communities. In 2021, he was arrested by the Union Police Department for arson and found guilty that September in Franklin County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to seven years in state prison.