SAUGERTIES – A 44-year-old Malden man has been indicted by an Ulster County grand jury and arrested on Friday for allegedly setting a single-family house on fire at 160 Route 32A in the Saxton Fire District of the Town of Saugerties.
When police and firefighters arrived at the scene at about 1:45 in the morning on June 25, they found the residence fully engulfed in flames.
The grand jury indicted Timothy Benzenhoefer on charges of burglary, arson, criminal mischief, criminal contempt, aggravated cruelty to animals ands acting in a manner injurious to a child under the age of 17.
He was arraigned and remanded to the Ulster County Jail in lieu of $500,000 cash bail, $1 million bond, or $2 million secured bond.
Saugerties Police were assisted in the investigation by the Ulster County Fire Investigation Unit, Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, Greene County Sheriff’s Office, Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, Saxton Fire Department, Glasco Fire Department, and Diaz Ambulance.
