Hearing nears in arson case

SANDPOINT — A preliminary hearing is nearing for a Boundary County man accused of setting fire to a former wife’s vehicle last year.

Jonathan David Carson is charged with three-degree arson in connection with the October 2018 incident outside the Syringa Estates housing complex on North Division Avenue.

The fire totaled a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder, according to court documents. There were no injuries.

The alleged victim told Sandpoint Police she had argued with Carson over his non-attendance at a Focus on Children class, a course required of Idaho couples who end their marriage but have minor children. The workshops are meant to ease the strain divorces can place on children.

Carson admitted setting the fire in the front seat of the sport utility vehicle following the argument, a probable cause affidavit said. Carson reportedly told Sandpoint Police he entered the vehicle to retrieve a handgun he left in the glove box, but was unable to locate it.

Carson, the affidavit said, saw papers on the SUV’s front seat and set fire to them using a cigarette lighter.

Carson, 34, was summonsed to appear in Bonner County Magistrate Court in January to answer to the charges. He is free on his own recognizance while the case is pending, court records show.

Preliminary hearings in the case have been postponed partly because he was living in Las Vegas at the time he was being prosecuted, court documents indicate. The hearing, in which a judge determines if there’s sufficient evidence to warrant a trial in 1st District Court, is now set for April 10.

Arson in the third degree is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine, according to Idaho Code.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.