A 19-year-old Brownstown resident was charged with arson after setting some of his belongings on fire inside the house where he was staying.
Kenneth William Boling of 315 N. Ewing Street is accused of setting a 24-inch television and clothing on fire in a bedroom and walking out of the residence around 6 p.m. Monday, March 3.
According to Brownstown Police officer James A. Handley, he was summoned to the residence after another man who was at the residence tried to extinguish the fire and carried Boling’s flaming belongings outdoors.
Boling was staying at the residence along with several other roommates.
Police apprehended Boling at the Circle K Convenience Store on Commerce Street where he was found in possession of four lighters.
Questioned by Handley at the jail Boling admitted that he did light his TV on fire using a lighter, according to the probable cause affidavit, because “he was tired of people in the residence asking to use the TV” and “he set his TV on fire so people in the residence would stop bickering about it.”
According to the court document, flames were about two feet tall when the other resident threw a cup of water on it and carried the smoldering items outdoors.
The residence suffered minor damage including charred paneling, authorities reported.
Boling was booked into Jackson County Jail at 8:07 p.m. and charged with arson, a Level 6 felony, in Jackson Circuit Court.