A Springfield man pleaded not guilty to a charge of aggravated arson in Clark County Municipal Court on Friday.
Margarito Garcia is accused of setting fire to the porch of his ex-girlfriend’s sister’s house on South Fountain Avenue. just after midnight on Feb. 15.
According to a police affidavit, Garcia was upset because his girlfriend had recently broken off their relationship. He’d been calling his ex’s sister trying to find out her location, and made threats when she wouldn’t tell him where she was.
The sister saw Garcia approaching her home and immediately called 911. She was on the phone with dispatchers, with a BB gun pointed at the back door in fear that he would come inside, when she heard a bang on the door and then saw smoke and flames.
Her children were in the house with her when the fire was set.
Firefighters had to pry the door frame off to extinguish the fire.
Garcia’s bond was set at $25,000.
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