Crime & Safety
$35K Bond with Tether Set in Firebombing in Grosse Pointe Park
A not guilty plea was entered Sunday on behalf of the 20-year-old Grosse Pointe Park man accused of firebombing the home of Gary and Janet Van Elslander Friday. He was arraigned on three felony charges before Judge Carl Jarboe.
Grosse Pointe Park Judge Carl Jarboe set a $35,000 bond early Sunday for the 20-year-old man accused of firebombing the home of Gary and Janet Van Elslander Friday.
Charles Patterson Kay, of Grosse Pointe Park, was arraigned Sunday on three felony charges related to the middle of the night crime in which a molotov cocktail was thrown through a kitchen window of the home in the 700 block of Whittier shortly before 3:30 a.m.
The molotov cocktail partially ignited and a fire alarm at the house woke the homeowners. They extinguished the blaze before Grosse Pointe Park public safety officers arrived.
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Kay was arrested by responding officers searching the area. He has been in custody since early Friday. He is known to police in the Grosse Pointes.
Jarboe set a $35,000 cash or surety bond and is requiring that Kay be tethered to a GPS unit if he makes bail, according to Maria Miller, spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.
Find out what's happening in Grosse Pointewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Grosse Pointe Park Public Safety Director David Hiller told Patch Friday that the crime was not targeting the Van Elslanders but was random.
Kay will make his next appearance in court May 29 for a preliminary exam, according to Miller.
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