Man who tried to set fire to same house in one night placed on probation
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IDAHO FALLS — A local man who tried to set fire to the same house twice in one night is on probation.
On May 24, District Judge Joel Tingey sentenced Jeremy L. Baker, 19, to four years on felony probation. Baker was originally charged with first-degree arson, but as part of a plea agreement, Bonneville County prosecutors amended the charge to second-degree arson.
In addition to the time on probation, Baker will have to complete 100 hours of community service and pay $1,355.50 fees and fines, according to court records. Tingey also gave a suspended two to seven-year prison sentence that could be served if Baker is not successful on probation.
In June 2020, the Idaho Falls Fire Department arrived at a house on the 100 block of West Elva Street and found light smoke coming from the top floor of an abandoned house. Within minutes firefighters had the flames out and could find no one inside.
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The Idaho Falls Police Department then patrolled the area. An officer spotted smoke again coming from the top windows of the house. According to an affidavit of probable cause, when the officer shined a light in the windows, a man later identified as Baker darted away.
Police went toward the house and Baker came outside holding a backpack. Inside the bag, investigators found the blowtorch. Baker claimed he used the torch to smoke marijuana wax with his friends.
When asked if he started the fire, Baker said no and was looking around before seeing the flames himself.
“Like, I didn’t even know it was on fire,” Baker said.
Investigators said both fires started in the same bedroom and showed a burn pattern of a blowtorch.