Local man faces charges for twice setting home on fire
A Columbus man who had been attempting to evict squatters from a home he owns is now facing facing aggravated arson charges after a city fire investigator said the homeowner admitted to trying to burn down the home twice within a week.
Kenneth E. Hendricks, 63, of Columbus' South Side, is charged with two separate counts of aggravated arson for setting fire to his two-story home at 647 Lock Ave. on March 4 and March 7, according to court records.
Hendricks has been an owner of the home since November 1997, according to Franklin County Auditor's Office records.
According to one of the affidavits filed by a Columbus fire investigator, Columbus firefighters responded to the Lock Avenue home on March 4 on a report of a fire. When they arrived, they saw heavy smoke and fire and witnessed Hendricks walking past the front of the home. Firefighters extinguished the fire and requested an investigator to the scene, the affidavit states.
The investigator arrived and interviewed Hendricks about the fire. Hendricks told the investigator that he was the owner of the house and that he had an ongoing conflict with squatters who were living in the house, the affidavit states, and that he believed the squatters had stolen his truck and killed his dog the night before.
About 45 minutes into the interview, Hendricks told the investigator that he set the fire. He told the investigator that he sparked the fire in the living room and then it spread to the porch. Nobody was home at the time of the fire, and Hendricks said that he opened all of the doors so that the dogs that were inside could escape, the affidavit states.
Hendricks was charged with aggravated arson and a Franklin County Municipal Court judge released him on his own recognizance pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 19.
A few days later on March 7, Columbus firefighters again responded to the Lock Avenue home on another report of a fire. On arrival, firefighters found flames that originated from a debris pile snaking its way up the side of the house and onto the roof, the affidavit states.
Firefighters also witnessed Hendricks tossing debris into the fire. Once firefighters put out the fire, they requested a fire investigator, who determined that the fire was started intentionally.
Columbus police told the fire investigator that the person responsible, Hendricks, had already been placed in the back of a police car. According to the affidavit, Hendricks told police: “I burned it; I set it on fire.” Columbus police arrested Hendricks and he was again charged with aggravated arson.
At his arraignment on the second charge, Hendricks was ordered held pending $700,000 bond and was ordered to stay away from the home as a condition of any bond release. A preliminary hearing on that charge was set for March 15.
@Shahidmeighan smeighan@dispatch.com