A reportedly drunken and despondent Warsaw man brought out the Kosciusko County SWAT Sunday night after authorities say he doused his home with gasoline and threatened to set it ablaze. Warsaw police were called around 9 p.m. Sunday to a home at 804 E. Winona Ave., Warsaw, on reports the homeowner had made threats to burn his house down. Robert Lee Shelton, 50, refused to talk with police as they arrived, and he was instead reportedly seen by police drinking beer and fiddling with a lighter in his kitchen with a gas can and pools of gasoline on the floor, according to Warsaw police. Police also noticed the stench of natural gas near the home and learned Shelton had the gas to his stove on, police said. Homes around the immediate area were evacuated by police, and Winona Avenue and Reed Street were closed to traffic as the Kosciusko County SWAT was called in to handle the incident. Before their arrival, however, Shelton came out of the home through a porch, and police took him into custody. Warsaw firefighters hosed Shelton off before he was taken to Kosciusko Community Hospital then the Bowen Center for evaluation. He is facing a felony criminal recklessness charge through the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office. Shelton’s blood-alcohol content was reportedly 0.37 percent, police said. Investigators were told by a relative that Shelton was despondent as a result of domestic dispute.
