Local News
Man who lit neighbor’s house on fire charged
The man who held Fond du Lac County Law Enforcement at bay for nearly 7 hours at the beginning of the month after attempting to set his neighbor’s garage on fire, is said to have had a history of conflicts with that neighbor.
It took Fond du Lac County two weeks to officially file charges in the case and file a criminal complaint against 32-year-old Delraye Barthuly. According to that complaint, the targeted neighbor stated there had been nine other times when Barthuly targeted their house. Several of those instances were already open court cases when he attempted to light the neighbor’s garage on fire August 1st.
According to court records, Barthuly was charged Friday with Arson of Building, two counts of 1st-Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety, Criminal Damage to Property, Negligent Handling of Burning Material and Disorderly Conduct.
The complaint says that he was caught on the neighbor’s surveillance camera at 3 in the morning, using lighter fluid to light the garage door of the house on fire while the couple and their 8-month-old child were inside, before returning to his residence across the street.
Later that morning law enforcement attempted to arrest Barthuly but he threatened to burn his house down. Officers retreated and a nearly 7 hour stand-off followed before he finally came out to surrender.
Court records show Barthuly was out on a $350 bond from a late December of 2024 incident of Criminal Damage to Property
He is due back in court for the latest charges on September 12 for a preliminary hearing.