Photo: Daniel Milde
Charges have been dismissed against a Mountain Home man accused of trying to burn down his parents’ home while heavily intoxicated.
During a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday, prosecutors announced charges against 33-year-old Daniel Milde were being dropped, after the victim said the fire was an accident. It was also noted Milde had made restitution for the damage done by the fire.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Milde came to his relatives’ home along County Road 25 in the evening on June 10. He was reported to have been intoxicated and confrontational.
Milde’s attorney, Ben Gibson, said it was alcohol that got his client into trouble. He told the court, during an earlier session, Milde’s parents would allow their son to live with them, and they had agreed to monitor his activities for signs he might be drinking. Milde is reported to have successfully completed an addiction treatment program offered by John 3:16.
At the time of the incident, Milde’s father told investigators his son had exhibited similar behavior in the past, leading to physical altercations at times. Milde had been living at his parents’ home “off and on” for about three months at the time of the fire, his father said.
Milde’s father said his son eventually left the residence during the June incident. Because of the son’s behavior and the fear he might return, the father said he took the opportunity to gather members of the family and take them to a local motel to spend the night.
When Milde’s sister returned to the residence the next morning to pick up her work shoes, she found all of the doors and windows open. She told investigators she also observed “remnants of a fire” on a cookstove and a table in the kitchen. During the investigation, it was discovered Mountain Home fireman had been dispatched to the residence for a reported structure fire just before midnight June 10.
The fireman said they found a pile of rags on the cook stove and burned debris on the kitchen table. A small pile of cardboard boxes were in the middle of the living room, but had not been ignited.
At the time he was arrested, Milde told investigators he had come to his parents’ home intoxicated, but remembered very few details. He said he believed he was cooking which might have accounted for the fire. Investigators, however, said they had found no pots, pans or food items on the stove — only the burned rags.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI