Crime & Safety

Prosecutor Charges Arson in Grosse Pointe Park Firebombing

The 20-year-old man arrested Friday shortly after a home in the 700 block of Whittier was firebombed will be arraigned at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 19, 2013, in Grosse Pointe Park on arson and other charges.

The 20-year-old man arrested in the early Friday firebombing of the home of Gary and Janet Van Elslander is facing three felony charges filed by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. 

Charles Patterson Kay, of Grosse Pointe Park, will be arraigned at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 19, 2013, in the Park's Municipal Court. The judge is Carl Jarboe, but it is unknown whether he is the judge who will perform the weekend arraignment. The judges in the Grosse Pointes fill in for each other on weekends and vacations when necessary.

Kay is charged with second degree arson, sending an explosive with intent to cause damage and possession of a molotov cocktail, according to Maria Miller, spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.

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If convicted, Kay faces up to 20 years in prison each on the arson and sending an explosive charges and up to four years in prison for the possession of a molotov cocktail count.

He is accused of throwing a molotov cocktail through the kitchen window of the home of Gary and Janet Van Elslander in the 700 block of Whittier Road shortly before 3:30 a.m. Friday May 17, 2013. 

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The cocktail partially ignited, according to Grosse Pointe Park police, and a resident extinguished the fire before officers arrived. Responding officers immedietly began searching the area and found Kay during their search. He's been in custody since early Friday. 

Grosse Pointe Park Director of Public Safety David Hiller told Patch Friday the crime was random and not targeted at the Van Elslanders. Gary VanElslander is the president of Art Van Furniture. 

Kay is known to police in the Grosse Pointes.

During the investigation early Friday, Grosse Pointe Shores police were asked by Park police to put a car outside of the home of the patriarch of the family, Art Van. 


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