Man accused of setting fire to Midway house following domestic dispute
A man is accused of setting his house in Midway on fire early Monday morning following a noisy domestic dispute just hours earlier.
Smith Township police officers, who are contracted to patrol the borough, were called to 111 S. Main St. shortly before 10:30 p.m. Sunday to investigate a “violent and loud” domestic dispute between a man and a woman, investigators wrote in court documents.
The homeowner, Michael Patrick Higgins Sr., told police nothing had happened and the other people in the house had left in a vehicle.
But less than two hours later, police officers and Midway volunteer firefighters were called back to the house for a fire and found the structure engulfed in flames. A dog living in the house was able to escape unharmed as firefighters broke open the front door to rescue anyone inside.
No one was inside the house and no injuries were reported, although the structure sustained heavy damage. Most of the windows were broken out and thick black soot could be seen around the sills and front door.
A woman told police that Higgins intentionally set fire to his house and then left the scene, according to court documents. Investigators then put out a bulletin asking for other departments to be on the lookout for Higgins, and he was eventually spotted by Mt. Pleasant Township police walking on the Panhandle Trail near Noblestown Road, where he was taken into custody.
Earlier in the night, police said Higgins also sent a text message to his juvenile stepson threatening to kill him in his sleep.
Higgins, 34, was charged with one felony count of causing a catastrophe and misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arraigned by District Judge Gary Havelka and taken to the Washington County jail on $125,000 cash bond while he awaits his preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled for Sept. 3 at 9:15 a.m.