***Updated at 11:40 a.m. on Tuesday, April 30 with charging information, and again at 3 p.m. with information about the investigation.***
A 26-year-old Kurtistown man arrested Monday in connection with a suspicious fire last week Puna was charged today with first-degree arson.
Justin James Clark was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
An initial court appearance for Clark was set for Wednesday.
He had been arrested in connection with a fire of suspicious origin Friday in the Hawaiian Acres subdivision.
Police and fire units responding to a 10:47 a.m. alarm found the multi-story home on Road 6 fully engulfed in flames.
Police said Tuesday that witnesses reporting seeing a sports-utility vehicle speeding away from the house shortly before they heard popping sounds and saw the house in flames.
That allowed detectives to develop a suspect based on descriptions of the SUV and its occupant.
Anyone with information on the blaze is asked to contact Det. Wendall Carter at 961-2378 or [email protected] or the police department at 935-3311.
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