The North Augusta man who died last week in a fire at his mobile home is the same man who made headlines for being arrested over 100 times in Aiken County.
John M. Syms, 56, was found deceased in his home on Feb. 2 at Tiger Lily Circle. The coroner said his office used DNA testing to identify the man.
“Mr. Syms cause of death was due to smoke inhalation and thermal injuries,” Coroner Darryl Ables said in a press release.
Syms made headlines a few years ago for being repeatedly arrested by Aiken County authorities. In December 2020, he made his 105th jail ride. On that occasion, Aiken County deputies charged Syms with resisting arrest and public disorderly conduct. (Story continues below.)
According to sheriff’s office reports from 2020, deputies watched Syms stumble down East Martintown Road and nearly step in front of a car. By all accounts, he was completely “tore up.”
Police called him grossly intoxicated. Blood-shot eyes, slurred words, wobbly legs and the overwhelming smell of alcohol gave him away, according to reports. Deputies immediately recognized Syms and repeatedly asked him to stop walking. He didn’t and eventually drew back a fist. That’s what he did during most police encounters.
But this time the Taser didn’t penetrate Syms’ many layers of clothes, officers said. According to reports, they eventually handcuffed him with no harm done.
Deputies said Syms threatened jailers at the Aiken County Detention Center but did not follow through. A rap sheet tracked since 2003 includes arrests for DUI, shoplifting and marijuana possession.
In a post about his many arrests, a local resident defended Syms, saying the repeat offender was a regular at the Circle K on Georgia Avenue.
“He is a great guy and if you get a chance to talk to him you would be amazed,” the resident said in 2020. “You just have to treat him as a human being and he will listen to you. I have seen him walk out of the gas station from getting something to eat and get on the sidewalk just to be stopped by police and arrested for public intoxication and never had the chance to eat what he bought. They stopped him walking because he had been arrested before. Not saying that he wasn’t drunk or that he needed to be off the street or that the police wasn’t looking out for his safety, but a lot of the arrests was probably uncalled for.”
Another resident called him a menace to society. “The judge needs to order him to rehab or lock him up for a few years,” the woman said in 2020.
The cause of last week’s fatal fire remains under investigation.
