MUNCIE — Sixteen years after he made a brief foray into Delaware County politics, a Muncie man finds his name back in the news, this time for allegedly setting fires in his home.
http://liarcatchers.com/arson_investigation.html
Christopher Martin Charles, 56, 1111 W. 14th St., is charged with arson with intent to defraud, a Class C felony carrying a standard four-year prison term.
According to court documents, city firefighters were sent to blazes at Charles’s home last Sept. 23 and two weeks later, on Oct. 6.
Investigators determined the first fire was the result of items igniting after they were placed in close proximity to a water heater.
The second blaze prompted a joint probe by Robert Mead, chief investigator for the Muncie Fire Department, and a private investigator hired by Charles’ insurance carrier.
They found that blazes had been set at various locations in the West 14th Street home on Oct. 6. Lab tests also showed the presence of gasoline at those points.
In a tape-recorded interview, Charles allegedly told the private investigator he had set both fires “to collect insurance money for damages,” an affidavit said.
However, in a later meeting with city police officer Jimmy Johnson, Charles refused to answer any questions without first consulting an attorney, according to the document.
The charge against Charles was filed Nov. 29 in Delaware Circuit Court 1, but he was not arrested until last week.
He remained in the Delaware County jail on Tuesday under a $10,000 bond. An initial hearing in his case has been set for Feb. 1.
In the spring of 1996, Charles was one of 13 Democrats seeking nomination to three at-large seats on the Delaware County Council. The Muncie man finished next to last in that contest, drawing 4,338 votes fewer than the primary race’s leading vote-getter, Todd Donati.
Four years after his campaign, Charles was convicted of theft, drawing a suspended sentence
