Credit: Middletown police
A Bristol Township man was charged Tuesday morning with purposely starting a fire at the Middletown home of his mom and step-father.
Tyler Joseph Wilczynski, 23, of Bristol Township’s Croydon section, was charged with arson, risking catastrophe, disarming a law enforcement officer, terroristic threats and reckless endangerment. He was arraigned by on-call District Judge Philip Daly and remanded to prison on 10 percent of $25,000 bail.
Advertisements
Wilczynski is accused of pouring gasoline on the carpet floor of the basement at his parents’ house in the 900 block of Avenue F in Middletown’s Parkland section and setting it on fire late Monday afternoon. The fire came after Wilczynski threatened to kill his mother’s dogs and said he wanted entice the police to shoot him, according to court papers filed overnight by Detective Andrew Amoroso.
Wilczynski’s half-brother alerted his parents and police that Wilczynski was threatening to kill his mother’s dogs around 4:15 p.m. Monday. A few minutes later, smoke was coming from the Avenue F residence and fire crews were called, police said.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Within minutes, officers located Wilczynski, whose curly hair appeared singed by fire and smelled of gasoline, walking about a block away from the fire.
Advertisements
When police went to take Wilczynski into custody, he fought with them and had to be pepper sprayed, authorities said.
Amoroso wrote that a gasoline container was found in the backyard and a lighter was found near the fire-damaged home.
Advertisements
Fire Marshal Jim McGuire noted burn patterns on the carpet floor appeared to show an accelerant was used in the basement. A field test confirmed an accelerant was present at the fire scene, police said.
No injuries were reported in the blaze, which caused damage throughout the basement.
Wilczynski’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for December 9.
Advertisements
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
