‘God … told him to’: Rexburg man charged with arson for lighting parents’ house on fire
Published at | Updated at
REXBURG — A 22-year-old man is facing an arson charge after police say he lit multiple fires in a home because he believed God asked him to.
Preston Blaine Rossberg is charged with one felony count of first-degree arson, which carries the possible punishment of up to 25 years in prison or a fine of up to $100,000.
EastIdahoNews.com reached out to Rossberg’s attorney, Jeromy Stafford, but did not receive a response by the time of publication. We will update if we hear back.
RELATED | House fire being investigated as arson, suspect admitted to BHC
According to court documents, on May 9, officers with the Rexburg Police Department received a call from a home in the 100 block of Rosewood Drive; the caller identified himself as Rossberg.
Rossberg told dispatch that “he lit his house on fire because God had told him to,” the police booking affidavit states.
When police officers arrived at the home, they located Rossberg and detained him. The officers say he also told them that he started the fire because “God had told him to.”
Police say Rossberg informed them that the house belonged to his parents, who were out of state at the time.
Asked how he lit the fire, Rossberg reportedly said that he found a lighter and used it to light multiple fires in the home, both upstairs and downstairs.
The officers said they took Rossberg to Behavioral Health Center for a mental evaluation, and a warrant for his arrest was obtained upon his release.
EastIdahoNews.com previously reported that the fire caused an estimated $400,000 in damage.
The 22-year-old man had his first court appearance last week and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 1:30 p.m. on July 8 before Magistrate Judge James Howard Barrett Jr.
Though Rossberg has been charged with this crime, it does not necessarily mean he committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.