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Charges were filed Thursday against a Warsaw man suspected of setting fire to his girlfriend's house.
A Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department deputy on patrol early Monday morning found a house on fire at 1903 Rosemont Ave., Warsaw. Nobody was home at the residence belonging to Christina Allen when the fire was discovered.
Michael Jackson Thomas, 27, also of the Rosemont address, was the prime suspect in the case once it was determined the fire was incendiary in nature, according to officials.
Thomas faces a single charge of arson. Police said a domestic dispute took place at the residence about 11 p.m. Sunday and Allen took her children and left, staying the night at her mother's house.
The fire was reported at 4:52 a.m. and is believed to have started about 3:20 a.m.
Allen told police she didn't want to believe Thomas could have set the fire but thought he was capable of doing so.
A friend of Thomas' told police that he gave Thomas a ride early Monday to the Rosemont Avenue residence, where Thomas said he needed to use the telephone. Thomas then left with the friend and reportedly told him that he burned Allen's house down and threatened to burn down his house and kill him if he told anyone.
Officials said that the times given to authorities by the friend corroborated the evidence found at the fire scene.
During questioning Monday morning, Thomas was reportedly intoxicated and was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail on a charge of public intoxication. After bonding out on that charge, information for a probation violation was filed and, on Tuesday, Thomas was booked into the KCJ on that charge. While still in custody, Thomas was served with the arson warrant Thursday.
Bond for the probation violation is $25,000. Officials are requesting a $10,000 bond for the arson, a Class B felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
