Former pastor of Belton church faces additional charges

ANDERSON COUNTY — Christopher Patrick Daniels, the former pastor of Blue Ridge Baptist Church in Belton, has been charged with three counts of presenting a false insurance claim. The charges were filed Thursday against Daniels, according to an Anderson County Sheriff’s Office news release, after multiple other charges were filed against him in March. The insurance reports filed by Daniels on behalf of the Belton church indicated that unknown vandals broke in to the church on separate occasions and caused more than $20,000 total worth of damage, according to the release. Through an investigation of the incidents, authorities determined that vandals did not cause the damage, and that Daniels fabricated the information for the police reports and filed false insurance claims, according to the release. Two bonds for $10,000 were set for Daniels on two charges of presenting a false insurance claim for payment of $5,000 or more. A bond of $5,000 was set for a charge of presenting a false insurance claim for payment of between $1,000 and $5,000, according to the release. The warrants for the three charges were served to Daniels at the Anderson County Detention Center, where he has been in custody since being arrested on March 9 for arson. Daniels made a 911 call around 9:20 a.m. March 8 and told emergency response dispatchers that he discovered smoke when he opened Blue Ridge Baptist Church that day, Anderson County Fire Chief Billy Gibson said at the time. South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agents charged Daniels on March 12 with breach of trust after the reported theft of roughly $5,000 from Daniels’ church.