PORTLAND, IN — A Portland man has been charged with arson in a fire at his parents’ home.
Deigo Manuel Gonzalez, 29, is charged with a Level 4 felony, which carries up to 12 years in prison.
According to an affidavit, a Jay County sheriff’s deputy went to the scene of a reported house fire, at 715 W. High St., on the afternoon of May 15.
The deputy, a captain with the sheriff’s department, said he found Gonzalez sitting on a curb near the fire scene.
“The suspect’s hair was singed, his clothes were burnt, and he had minor burn injuries,” the court document said. “The suspect volunteered he was responsible for setting the fire.”
Gonzalez reportedly told a Portland police officer he had entered his parents’ home after breaking a window on the night of May 14 and spent the night there. His parents were not at home at the time.
Gonzalez said he was upset with his parents because they had recently kicked him out of their home, according to the affidavit.
The Portland man reportedly said he threw gasoline into a car parked in his parents’ garage and tried to set it on fire. He said his efforts caused the vehicle “to blow up in his face,” an investigator for Jay County Prosecutor Wes Schemenaur wrote.
Portland firefighters reported the garage was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived at the scene.
Gonzalez’s father confirmed his son had been upset with his parents and said he “did not give his son permission to set the house on fire,” the court document said.
The younger Gonzalez, arrested on May 18, has received a July 29 trial date in Jay Circuit Court.
According to court records, the younger Gonzalez, formerly of Fort Wayne, been convicted of crimes including domestic battery with a deadly weapon, residential entry, possession of a narcotic drug, driving while intoxicated and possession of marijuana.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Portland man charged with arson in fire at parents’ home
Reporting by Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
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