LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
An Edgar County man told Paris police officers he set fire to a Paris residence because someone would not “be honest with him.” The man, 27-year-old Michael Fitzsimmons, appeared in custody at the Edgar County Courthouse at 10:30 a.m. Monday, March 3.
According to assistant state’s attorney Lauren McQueen, officers were dispatched to a home in Paris following reports of a house fire shortly after 2 a.m. on Feb. 24. In her proffer to Judge Lewis, McQueen said the fire was determined as an act of arson by a fire captain from the Paris Fire Department.
“The captain was on scene and was able to determine the origin of the fire and stated that he believed that there was evidence of an arson since the location of the origin was not around any electrical sources that would have caused the fire,” McQueen said.
Both the fire captain and officers on the scene spoke with residents of the home to determine the course of events. Per their reports, a resident of the home first noticed smoke coming from the rear of the dwelling, and they were able to extinguish flames that were coming from the house with a garden hose.
Officers on the scene also learned that a second resident of the home had recently been having issues with Fitzsimmons.
“Just prior to the fire, the defendant was texting (a resident of the home) stating certain quotations of “You to be wise to answer me” “I need an answer from you out of honesty” “You being honest is going to determine a lot of things from this point on” and “If you keep ignoring me, it’s only going to be difficult.” Those various messages were sent from the times between 12:31 in the morning and 12:34 in the morning,” McQueen said. “(The resident) responded to the defendant stating that (they) and (their) kids were asleep in the residence and (they) would not be responding because of that.”
After several conversations with the homeowners, officers were able to speak with Fitzsimmons, and during an interview, he admitted to starting the fire, stating that he has feelings for (the resident) and that he had “just been lost in his head.”
In his statement to law enforcement, Fitzsimmons admitted that he “took a butane lighter to a wire at the residence and held it for a little while before coming to the senses realizing that it was wrong.”
He also said that he started the fire because “(the resident) was not wanting to talk with him.”
After sharing the details with the courtroom, McQueen requested the defendant not be given pre-trial release.
“Due to the nature of the offenses, as well as the fact that there are specific victims in this case, and not just the community at large, the state does believe that there are no condition or combination of conditions that can litigate a real and present reason for release,” McQueen said, adding that if the judge saw any reason to release the defendant prior to a trial, she believed orders of protections for all residents at the home in question should be issued.
“We do not believe it would be enough to deter the issues,” she said.
Public defender Nathanal Harsy was assigned to Fitzsimmons’ defense prior to the court date. The attorney argued that the defendant’s criminal background was not dangerous and that his client should be granted pre-trial release to continue working his job.
Fitzsimmons is currently on 24-month conditional release for a DUI charge in Clark County.
“Based on the proffer provided by the state, it appears that Mr. Fitzsimmons stopped doing what he was alleged to have done and decided not to pursue that,” Harsy said. “My client is also advising that at the time he left (the residence) there was not an ongoing fire.”
Judge Lewis followed up with the state, asking if there was any evidence that the defendant had attempted to put out the fire before leaving the scene, to which McQueen responded, “There was no evidence he tried to put it out … and when the (resident) realized there was smoke in coming from the back of the house, the flames were still there.”
Additional questions the judge posed included concerns over the exchanged text messages and if the fire was set following the resident sharing that children were in the home, in their beds.
According to McQueen, video footage acquired from a neighboring school showed one of the home’s residents addressing the flames and smoke between 1:28 and 1:37 in the morning.
“Based on that, and the time of the conversations, it looks to be that the fire was started after the text message confirming that (they were) inside the residence,” McQueen said.
Following several moments of contemplation, Judge Lewis decided not to grant pre-trial release to the defendant.
“Based on the allegations it’s just too dangerous for me to say that I am going to release you,” he said. “I am going to deny pre-trial release.”
Fitzsimmons will return to court on March 10 for a preliminary hearing.