Kokomo man arrested for arson
Jul. 28—A Kokomo man is now under arrest after police say he deliberately set fire to a property earlier this year on the city's southeast side.
Colby D. Martin, 23, is facing a Level 4 felony charge of arson for his alleged connection to the fire, which destroyed a home in the 700 block of South Waugh Street and also damaged two others nearby.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed through the Howard County Clerk's Office, firefighters were dispatched to the fully engulfed vacant residence just before 5 a.m. April 17.
Upon further investigation of area surveillance footage, fire officials observed a man leaving an outbuilding in the 600 block of South Locke Street — one associated with Martin — shortly before the fire began, per court records.
The man then allegedly walked down an alley toward the Waugh Street residence while carrying a gas type canister, only to leave a short time later and walk back toward Locke Street, court records indicated.
Soon after his departure from the scene, light and fire growth were then reportedly observed coming from the Waugh Street house, court records noted.
On June 15, 2022, Martin sat down for an interview with investigators from the Kokomo Fire Department and officers from the Kokomo Police Department, and Martin reportedly admitted to setting the fire because he was "owed approximately $1,000 for work that he had previously completed," the affidavit stated.
Martin also told authorities he poured gas in the rear of the Waugh Street structure and lit it with a lighter, according to court documents.
Martin is currently being held at the Howard County Jail on $25,000 cash bond only, with no 10%, and he has a pretrial conference slated for November in Howard Superior Court 4.
