Arson suspect: Burning house God’s will

WASILLA — A Wasilla man remains jailed after telling authorities God was acting through him to punish his father when the man burned down his family’s house.

Alaska State Trooper Scott Bartlett, who filed an affidavit in the case against Robert A. Montecelli, 28, says he arrived at the home on Williams Road at 4:01 p.m. Saturday. By that time, flames had fully engulfed the front of the home.

Bartlett talked to the homeowner, Montecelli’s mother, who said she’d left earlier that day with all of her kids except Montecelli, the affidavit says. She said her Chevrolet truck was missing from her driveway.

Bartlett’s affidavit says troopers caught up with Robert Montecelli on Saturday at a cabin at Mile 49 of the Parks Highway. Montecelli told troopers he was at the home when it burned down.

“When asked why he did not call 911 he stated he wanted the house to burn down,” Bartlett says.

Montecelli later allegedly told Bartlett that after his family left he grabbed a five-gallon gas can used to fill the generator, poured gasoline on the floor in the living room, returned the gas can to where he got it, lit a match and set the place on fire, pausing to grab the keys to his mother’s truck on the way out, the affidavit says.

“He stated God was working through him and was punishing his father for his sinning; that is why he didn’t call the police,” Bartlett says.

Montecelli does not have a driver license, Bartlett says in the affidavit. Montecelli told him it’s because he’s epileptic.

Central Mat-Su Fire Department Acting Chief Michael Keenan said the house had already collapsed in on itself when firefighters arrived. At that time, responders weren’t certain if somebody was left inside, but with a fire that far along, it was not safe to go in. As they pulled the house apart to extinguish the blaze, firefighters were also checking for bodies.

To have a fire spread that quickly, “That’s a red flag in our eyes that something different might have happened where accelerants were involved,” Keenan said.

If the fire is determined to have been an act of arson, it put firefighters in danger needlessly, he said.

“Even us operating from the outside it puts us at risk when someone sets a fire like that,” Keenan said.

In the end, only the garage was left standing, but it had so much smoke and fire damage it will probably have to be razed, he said.

The Red Cross was able to put the family up in a hotel and provide other assistance.

“ We were able to provide the Montecellis with a week’s worth of food, clothing and shoes for all the members of the family and seasonal garments, and we are working with them for a deposit on a new rental,” said Nancy Hall, director of the organization’s Mat-Su chapter.

Robert A. Montecelli was jailed at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility on $5,000 bail. He is charged with first-degree arson and driving without a license and is next due in court Feb. 7.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@-frontiersman.com or 352-2270.