MUNCIE, IN — A rural Muncie man has been accused of setting his neighbor’s field on fire.
Joseph Leroy Clock, 69, was charged on Friday, Aug. 7, with arson, a Level 6 felony carrying up to 30 months in prison, and criminal recklessness, a misdemeanor.
Delaware County sheriff’s deputies said on the afternoon of Friday, July 31, Clock — who lives in the 2600 block of East Indiana 28 — set fire to a field belonging to Joseph Russell.
Albany police reported Clock told them he started the fire.
A deputy reported when he arrived in the area, Clock was “standing in his gravel driveway, raking it.”
The deputy said he could “see a large amount of grass and some of the bean field had significant burn marks.”
The total length of fire damage was later measured at 241 feet, an affidavit said. Damage was estimated at less than $500.
A utility pole belonging to American Electric Power also had “burn marks” due to the blaze, according to an affidavit.
The deputy said when he approached Clock, the rural Muncie man said something about “eradicating (a weed) for Mr. Russell.”
Clock reportedly later declined to discuss the incident with deputies. He was arrested and continued to be held in the Delaware County Jail on Friday under a $5,000 bond.
A trial date has not yet been set in his Delaware Circuit Court 3 case.
Clock already faced two misdemeanor charges — resisting law enforcement and unlawful use of 911 service — filed against him in February in Muncie City Court.
According to court records, the Delaware County man has been convicted of battery, battery resulting in bodily injury, invasion of privacy (four times), failure to stop after an accident and theft (twice).
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: Rural Muncie man charged with setting neighbor’s field on fire
Reporting by Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press | USA TODAY Network
