Detention Officer Assaulted by Arson Suspect

The suspect in a Tabor City structure fire now faces additional charges after he allegedly attacked a Columbus County Detention Office.

James Rico Gore, 54, was charged with assault on a law enforcement officer and returned to custody at the jail, according to arrest records.  His address was listed as 212 Pete Circle. Gore was being held under $1 million bond on charges of attempted first degree murder, first degree arson and five counts of resisting an officer.

Gore allegedly attacked Detention Officer Parker Calhoun Thursday without warning. The officer sustained a chipped tooth and facial injuries, the sheriff’s office said.

Additional jail staff responded and Gore continued fighting, the report said.

“After the assault, the inmate continued to resist directives and made threatening statements, requiring a controlled response by staff,” the report said.

The detention officer was treated onsite by medical staff and returned to work.

Gore was arrested in September, weeks after being released from prison when he allegedly set fire to the home where he was staying with his mother and a two-year-old child. The fire was set after the woman threw Gore out of the home, the report said. Gore reportedly piled combustibles on a bed to start the fire. The woman had most of the fire extinguished by the time firefighters arrived, and no one was injured.

The fire marshal noted that a smoke detector was the first warning the woman had of the fire in the home. The structure sustained smoke and water damage.

While firefighters were securing the home, Gore allegedly “tensed up” at deputies and Tabor City Police, and made threats against them.

Gore has a lengthy criminal history, and was released from prison on parole in March, according to prison records. He was serving time for possession of a firearm by a felon. He was previously convicted of assault on a law enforcement officer, assault on a female and armed robbery and larceny.