Man arrested after setting fire to woman’s Bellefonte-area home, police say
A Spring Township man was arrested Wednesday after investigators accused him of threatening to kill a woman and setting fire to her kitchen.
Christopher Clinton, 50, claimed he wanted to “blow up the house” along Jonathan Lane after an argument, township police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
He intended to kill the woman about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, but “decided not to follow through” with the plan, police wrote.
Clinton told officers he started the fire on the stove-top. The microwave was destroyed and cabinets were charred, while the fire alarms and carbon monoxide sensors were ripped from the wall, police wrote. Firefighters from the Undine and Logan fire companies responded.
A defense lawyer was not listed.
Clinton was charged with one felony count each of arson, causing catastrophe and risking catastrophe. He was also charged with one misdemeanor count each of terroristic threats and disorderly conduct.
Clinton was arraigned Wednesday by county District Judge Don Hahn, who set bail at 10% of $77,500. Clinton did not post bail and is detained at the Centre County Correctional Facility.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17.