Gary Man Charged With Setting Ex-Girlfriend's Home On Fire
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A Gary man with at least two open felony cases pending has been charged in Lake Superior Court with arson from a fire one year ago, the Post-Tribune reports.
Michael Armon Gregory, 35, of 2532 Marshalltown Drive, is charged with setting fire on July 3, 2012, to a first-floor apartment in the 700 block of Virginia Street, Gary.
The resident, a 20-year-old daughter of Gregory's ex-girlfriend, told police she was asleep on her couch at about 6:30 a.m. when she smelled smoke and saw Gregory standing outside her window holding a torch lighter similar to the kind used to start a barbecue grill. She and Gregory looked at each other before Gregory fled. The woman said her curtain was on fire and flames were rising to the ceiling. The couch where she was asleep was also on fire. The woman was pregnant and had her two children, ages 2 and 4, there, along with a friend's daughter.
The fire was started at the plastic partition of a window air conditioning unit, which spread to the interior of the apartment.
Gregory has been charged with two counts of arson, both Class B felonies punishable by six to 20 years, and burglary, which is punishable by two to eight years.
He has a Sept. 3 jury trial scheduled for three separate felony cases — robbery resulting in injury, battery with a deadly weapon and stalking.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
