Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A man was busted for arson after police say he asked a church for gasoline and later burned down a house.

Michigan State Police report that shortly before 11am on Tuesday, an unidentified man wearing a hunter’s orange camouflage jacket went to a church in Mesick in Wexford County asking to borrow a can of gasoline because he wanted to burn his house down that he had been working on. The church did not provide the man with gasoline and called 911 to report the incident.

Troopers canvassed the area for the man after the incident was reported to central dispatch but were unable to locate him.

At approximately 12:14pm, fire personnel and troopers were called to respond to a residence on West John Street in Mesick for a report of a structure fire. The caller stated all occupants of the residence had successfully evacuated. Fire personnel arrived on scene and began fighting the blaze inside the main floor of the structure.

Police say a man wearing a hunter’s orange camouflage jacket was observed by a witness running out of the home with his jacket sleeve partially on fire.

Wexford County Central Dispatch received a call of a man wearing a hunter’s orange camouflage jacket requesting an ambulance at the car wash in Mesick just a couple blocks away from the fire. Troopers arrived at the car wash and identified the man as 33-year-old Brandon Michael Sias from Mesick.

Police said Troopers could smell an odor of gasoline coming from his clothes and observed a black gasoline can nozzle sticking out front jacket pocket. Sias was placed under arrest and lodged in the Wexford County Jail after being cleared by medical personnel.

Sias was arraigned Wednesday in the 84th District Court in Wexford County on one count of 2nd Degree Arson. His bond was set at $250,000 cash/surety. His next scheduled court appearance is on January 21st.

Photos: MSP