Man Faces Trial in Arson, Cruelty Case
An Oak Park man accused of dousing himself with gasoline and setting his house afire in September has been ordered to stand trial on three felony counts.
Richard Rose, 38, will be tried on one count of arson, one count of brandishing a knife and one count of animal cruelty.
Two family dogs died during the Sept. 29 incident, Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard E. Simon said. After arguing with his wife, Rose became suicidal and set fire to the garage and stairwell of his family’s Pesto Way home, Simon said.
When two neighbors tried to stop his tirade, Rose brandished a knife and threw gas on one of them, Simon said. After being trapped by fire in the upstairs portion of the home, Rose decided that he did not want to die and jumped out of a second-floor window, the prosecutor said. The dogs were also trapped on the second floor and succumbed to smoke inhalation.
Rose, whose preliminary hearing was Tuesday, is being held in the Ventura County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. He will be arraigned Nov. 8 in Superior Court.
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