Lansdale man headed for arson trial

Michael Linehan, 54, faces 4 criminal counts stemming from alleged February domestic incident

LANSDALE >> A 54-year-old Lansdale man charged with arson and other offenses for allegedly setting his girlfriend’s clothes on fire and urinating on her personal property during a domestic disturbance, according to police, is headed for trial on four of five criminal counts after waiving his preliminary hearing.

Michael Patrick Linehan, of the 300 block of East Main Street, appeared in Lansdale District court and opted to waive his hearing after prosecutors agreed to withdraw a firstdegree felony arson charge. Linehan, who was released from Montgomery County jail after his bail was reduced from $10,000 cash to $10,000 unsecured, still faces trial on second-degree felony arson, seconddegree misdemeanor reckless endangerment and summary counts of criminal mischief and disorderly conduct in connection with the alleged incident.

Borough police have said that around 6 p.m. on Feb. 19, cops responded to Linehan’s residence after his girlfriend called 911 and said that Linehan was drunk and had lit a piece of her clothing on fire. Outside the home, officers encountered Linehan, whose breath reeked of alcohol while telling police he had been arguing with his girlfriend since the previous night, according to a criminal complaint.

Linehan’s girlfriend told cops that Linehan had been drinking for two days and that he had pushed and shoved her during a quarrel the night before, and that on Sunday evening, just before she called police, Linehan threw a fullsized Christmas tree across the living room, urinated on her backpack which contained personal items, and then set afire her purple sweater, which was sitting on top of a laundry basket full of clothes, the complaint indicates.

The woman said she extinguished the flaming sweater before calling police.

Inside the residence, described in the complaint as “in disarray,” cops found the Christmas tree laying on its side in the living room and observed the woman’s backpack was “saturated with a liquid,” as was the carpet surrounding it, according to the complaint. The charred sweater was near a laundry basket, as well as other piles of clothing and wood furniture, and a Fairmount Fire Company official was called to the scene to ensure the fire was completely extinguished.

Linehan was taken into custody, and a pair of Bic disposable lighters were found in his pants pocket, according to police. The lighters and the charred sweater were seized as evidence.