Stratford man sent warning texts before setting house fire, faces max of 56 years in prison
A Boone County jury found a local man guilty of arson and several other charges last week.
Michael Glynn, 45, of Stratford faces a maximum of 56 years in prison after lighting a Boone home on fire in May as a result of a two-hour standoff with police.
The jury found Glynn guilty of first, second and third-degree arson in addition to guilty charges of reckless use of fire and prohibited person in possession of ammunition and burglary after he barricaded himself inside his spouse's home on College Street in Boone.
Local police were called to the home shortly after 2:30 p.m. May 1 for reports of a violation of a no contact order. Authorities found Glynn, 45, inside the home near the intersection with Webster Street. According to court documents, the order legally banned Glynn from visiting the property on College Street, which belonged to his spouse.
Glynn was the only person in the residence when officers arrived, according to a Boone Police Department press release.
More: Boone man charged with arson for allegedly burning home during stand-off
Boone Police established a perimeter, and Glynn refused to leave during more than 60 minutes of negotiation. Authorities believe the suspect started a fire an hour into the standoff, which eventually engulfed the house in flames. An officer also observed Glynn throw a flaming box out the window, court documents said.
Glynn fled the residence shortly before 5 p.m. - more than two hours after the initial standoff began - where he was shot with bean bag rounds by Boone Police. He was eventually apprehended by an Iowa State Patrol K9 officer, and was treated for a dog bite at the Boone County Hospital.
Glynn's spouse later told police that he had made threats of murder in the past and he intended to kill his spouse the day of the fire, court documents said.
The flames burned for nearly two hours, destroying the property, including a garage. The remaining ashes and debris on the College Street lot were recently removed.
Glynn’s destructive path
A no contact order had been in place against Glynn since April 23 when he broke into The Copperhead Saloon and Grill in Stratford. According to court documents, Glynn has been charged with third-degree burglary for the break-in. Glynn has been charged with several OWIs in Iowa and Wisconsin as well as charges of driving without a license in Polk, Story, Hamilton, Greene and Boone counties.
The prosecutors in Glynn’s arson case presented several text messages during the trial, correspondence that was sent a day before the house fire.
An outgoing message from Glynn to a 515 number on April 30 said “Get out of Stratford and take your mom too. I’m blowing the town up tonight at 8 pm.” The next message, also from Glynn a minute later said “Don’t go to boone either.”
Glynn has allegedly been destructive during his time in the Boone County Jail. He was charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief on June 10 after allegedly ripping a metal mirror off the wall and hiding it and bolts in his cell. Jailers also discovered that the window in the cell had been tampered with while a section of brick near the window had been broken off.
Glynn was also charged with first-degree criminal mischief June 23 while still housed in the Boone County Jail. Following what court documents say was sparked by “agitation,” Glynn allegedly damaged an electronic machine by slamming it onto the concrete floor. He also pushed a scanner, a printer and a computer onto the floor before wrestling with jail staff.
Glynn arrested for assault last summer
Glynn was found guilty of assault in July of 2022 after punching the owner of the Stratford County Store in the face.
He was fined and a no contact order was placed on him, but no additional jail time was handed out.
The 2023 arson conviction, according to a Boone County Attorney’s Office press release, has a mandatory minimum service time of 50-70 percent, which is handed out at the court’s discretion.
No sentencing date has been set.
Brandon Hurley is editor of the Ames Tribune and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached at bhurley@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Iowa man found guilty of arson for May house fire, standoff in Boone
