A Shelton man was charged with first-degree arson Sunday after he allegedly told a neighbor he had set a building on fire.
There were no injuries.
In a prepared statement, Shelton Police Detective Christopher Nugent said about 3 p.m. firefighters responded to a fire in the basement of a home downtown.
According to a Facebook post from the Echo Hose Hook & Ladder Co., a basement fire in a New Street residence was knocked down quickly by firefighters.
While cops were on the way to the fire, a resident of the area told police that a man had “approached their house and told them that he just lit the house on fire.”
Officers found the man, 51-year-old Michael Karolkowski, walking down Howe Avenue.
He was taken into custody because he allegedly “would not comply with officers’ directives.”
Once the fire was put out, police charged him with arson after an investigation by detectives, the Shelton fire marshal, and the Connecticut State Police Fire and Investigation Unit.
In addition to first-degree arson, Karolkowski faces charges of first-degree reckless endangerment, breach of peace, and interfering with an officer.
Karolkowski was held on $250,000 and was due to be arraigned at Superior Court in Derby Monday (April 17).
