A house fire at 247 Packer St. in Fond du Lac, Sept. 23, 2024. (Photo courtesy Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue)
FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A Menasha man is facing charges for allegedly lighting a Fond du Lac house on fire, seriously injuring a teenage girl.
Michael Perez, 60, was charged with arson, first degree reckless injury, four counts of felony criminal damage to property and mistreatment of animals.
The fire occurred around 11 p.m. Sept. 23 in the 200 block of Packer Street in a two-story upper/lower duplex.
The lone occupant in the residence at the time of the blaze, a 16-year-old girl, was asleep in her bedroom, according to the criminal complaint. She escaped the burning home from a second-story window, falling over 19 feet to the ground, suffering severe injuries.
Perez was identified as a person of interest in the fire and arrested on suspicion of arson. The complaint says Perez admitted to starting the fire in three separate interviews with police.
Perez says he found gas on the east porch in a can, and poured it on the east side of the porch… Perez says he went to the house that night and watched… from a tree line south of the residence. Perez says he actually poured a line of gas away from the house so he wouldn’t have to be so close to the gas can when he lit the gas.
There were two more interviews… Perez gives a different spin on the motive but, each time, Perez admits he lit the gasoline on fire to set the house on fire.
Online court records show Perez is being held on a $750,000 cash bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 8.
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