Roy Lee Clowder appears in Mobile County, Alabama, court (WALA/YouTube).
The disturbing array of charges against an Alabama resident has left local authorities taken aback. The latest in this series of allegations accuses the man of setting fire to a camper and attempting to drown a police dog.
Roy Lee Clowder was detained and placed in the Mobile County Metro Jail on Friday. His list of charges includes second-degree arson, third-degree criminal mischief, resisting arrest, revoking probation, and harming a police animal. On Tuesday, he faced the court, where the judge deemed the prosecution’s evidence sufficient to advance the case to a grand jury, according to reports.
Clowder’s encounters with the law are not new.
Back in October 2024, Clowder, then 37, was involved in a chilling incident at a convenience store on Dauphin Island Parkway. As reported by local Fox affiliate WALA, a woman stopped at the store on her way home from work. Clowder allegedly approached her, requesting a ride. Once she agreed, the situation took a dark turn as he purportedly pulled out a gun and ordered her to switch seats.
The bizarre series of events escalated when Clowder allegedly drove them to a nearby church. There, he is accused of forcing the woman into a “makeshift wedding” right on the church steps. Following this coerced ceremony, authorities say Clowder continued to detain her against her will, driving around the area and committing sexual assault.
Amidst the alarming ordeal, the woman managed to reach out to a friend, who then contacted the authorities. Responding deputies were able to intervene, persuading Clowder to release his captive. Subsequently, he was charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree kidnapping, and first-degree sexual assault, to which he pleaded not guilty.
Mobile County District Judge Spiro Cheriogotis ultimately dropped the three charges stemming from that October 2024 case, citing, at least in part, not enough probable cause, the area’s NBC affiliate WPMI reported. The woman had reportedly failed to appear in court.
The same judge did find him guilty of resisting arrest and sentenced him to four months in jail with credit for time served.
Cheriogotis called it “easily one of the top 10 craziest cases I’ve heard [in] my entire career,” per WALA.
Fast forward to December 2025, when Clowder was reportedly helping someone move a camper. Prosecutors claim that he got into an argument with someone and ended up setting the motor vehicle on fire. When deputies approached him about the claim, he allegedly hit and tried to drown a K-9 with the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.
Clowder was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on the charges on Wednesday.
Law&Crime reached out to the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office for more information on the arson case.
