A Bear Lake Township man, arrested on suspicion of deliberately setting his house on fire, has been charged with arson and killing animals.
Kenneth Milton Dennett, 51, was arraigned Friday in 85th District Court in Manistee County on one count of second-degree arson and two counts of killing and torturing animals, court records state.
On Wednesday morning, the Manistee County Sheriff’s Office was called to a structure fire in the 8000 block of Lake Street in Bear Lake Township, Sheriff Brian Gutowski said in a statement.
By the time deputies arrived at the scene, the house was engulfed in flames, Gutowski said.
After their initial investigation, the sheriff said, police have reason to believe that Dennett purposefully started the fire in the hallway of his house.
As of Friday, Dennett was still lodged at the Manistee County Jail on a $150,000 cash or surety bond.