Trial set next spring for former Boyceville man accused of arson
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FIRE DAMAGED THIS BUILDING at 2900 1020th Avenue in the Village of Boyceville May 14, 2020, Jason M. Figler will appear in court next April in connection with the incident. —photo by Carlton DeWitt
By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A trial has been scheduled in Dunn County Circuit Court next April for a 46-year-old former Boyceville man accused of setting a fire in a garage.
Jason M. Figler appeared by video for a court hearing before Judge James Peterson October 26.
Figler is charged with one Class C felony count of arson to a building.
Figler’s attorney, Steven Liening, who appeared on behalf of attorney Shelly Tomtschik, told the court that the case had not been resolved and asked that a trial be set next year.
Judge Peterson scheduled a pre-trial hearing and a two-day trial in April.
Although Figler previously lived in Boyceville, he is now a resident of Illinois, and Judge Peterson pointed out Figler would be required to be in court in person for the trial and could not appear by video means.
According to the criminal complaint, on May 14 of this year at approximately 1:30 p.m., Figler called Dunn County Dispatch to say the inside of his garage, located just outside the village of Boyceville in the Town of Tiffany, was on fire.
While Dunn County deputies were on their way to the scene, Boyceville Police Chief Greg Lamkin contacted them to say there was a stack of wood on fire inside the garage, and it appeared to be arson. Police Chief Lamkin said the renter on the scene, Jason Figler, was in disagreement with his landlord and was acting strangely.
When deputies asked Figler what had happened, he said he had “no idea” and that he had been inside the house, and the garage had just started smoking. When asked what had drawn his attention to the fire, Figler talked about the other Rottweilers in the house and about consistently letting them in and out.
Figler said he came outside and saw the smoke, that he had another Rottweiler in the garage he let out and that he grabbed the fire extinguisher and the whole wall of the garage was on fire, according to the complaint.
The deputy asked Figler if his dog was inside the kennel or inside the building, and Figler said the dog was in the building. He said when he got the dog out, the whole wall was on fire, that he got the fire extinguisher and put out as much of the fire as he could, and then he put the dog inside the camper, the complaint states.
The deputy informed Figler the fire had started inside the garage, and Figler asked, “how would have the fire started inside with him in there?” Figler told the deputy “there was not a person in the world that would come through the gate with the dog in there. Jason stated not even his friends because they know that dog,” according to the complaint.
Arson is a Class C felony that, upon conviction, carries a possible penalty of a fine of up to $100,000 and/or 40 years in prison.
