Greencastle man sentenced to six years in Madison Twp. arson

A Putnam County man who saw an attempt to rekindle his marriage flame out this summer will now be going to prison instead of back to his estranged wife.

Arthur Lee Rose, 39, Greencastle, has been sentenced to six years, all executed, in the Indiana Department of Correction following a plea agreement entered before Putnam Superior Court Judge Denny Bridges.

In the agreement accepted Wednesday, Rose pled guilty as charged to arson, a Class B felony, for the July 16 fire at his rental home at 6081 W. CR 150 North, west of Greencastle in Madison Township.

That fire did at least $5,000 damage to the two-story home owned by Kimberly and Paul Rooksberry Jr., Deputy Prosecutor Justin Long noted in court.

The plea agreement filed Oct. 17 and approved Wednesday by Judge Bridges makes Rose responsible for "any requested restitution" in regard to the arson fire.

Long also noted that damage was essentially confined to one room of the house and no one was hurt in the blaze that occurred shortly after 7:30 p.m. July 16.

Rose, who was represented by court-appointed Greencastle attorney Sid Tongret, had been facing a sentencing range of 6-20 years and a fine of up to $10,000 for the Class B felony count of arson.

Rose will receive credit for time served at the Putnam County Jail.

He told the court that Dec. 16 will mark six months of incarceration for him. Thus, if he receives good-time credit (two days for each one served in such a manner), Rose could be released in approximately 2-1/2 years.

The fire was determined to have been intentionally set, the probable cause affidavit states, by igniting ordinary combustible materials on the top shelf of a wood and particle board wardrobe located along the east wall of the second-floor master bedroom.

That conclusion was reached by investigator Timothy Alan Murphy of the State Fire Marshal's Office, who assisted the Madison Township Fire Department in the investigation.

"There were no logical accidental ignition sources at or near the area or point of origin of the fire," Murphy noted, adding that all accidental causes were ruled out.

One of the key factors in the case against Rose was the discovery through cell phone records that he actually called his wife to inform her the house was on fire before he ever called 911 to report the blaze.

Murphy, a 15-year arson investigator, interviewed Rose's wife, reporting that approximately two weeks before the incident she had informed Rose of her intention to end their marriage and file for divorce.

Murphy also noted in the probable cause document that Rose's estranged wife believed the fire was intentionally set in her husband's futile attempt to keep the marriage from collapsing.

The house reportedly sustained fire, heat, smoke and water damage estimated at $20,000 at the time of the blaze. Madison Fire personnel were able to confine the fire to the second-floor master bedroom.