Idaho Falls Man Sets Fire To Car and Bud Light Beer Truck

Idaho Falls, Idaho. Michael Menard, 58, was charged with two counts of felony third-degree arson in connection with two vehicles set on fire in a parking lot.

A Business On Fire

On Dec. 1, 2023, East Idaho News reported Idaho Falls Police responded to an unusual call from the owner of Western Transmission about two vehicles that had been set on fire in his business parking lot.

According to the Post Register, after authorities arrived on scene, the business owner shared video footage from a security camera of a man stumbling through the parking lot on Nov. 25, 2022.

According to KSL.com, court reports as well as police confirmed it was Menard "stumbling around the lot, entering several unlocked vehicles and setting fires to two of them."

Fiery Details

The footage then shows Menard with a flashlight in his hand as he climbed into a 1995 Ford F150, where he remained inside the truck for several minutes. After a short time, video footage shows a fire starting inside the truck.

The fire burned for a short amount of time and then I could not observe any more fire. It appears that the fire burned and lost oxygen due to the closed doors and put itself out.

-Bonneville County detective

 

Burning Bud Light

As the video footage played on, it featured Menard climbing inside of a Bud Light Van, followed by the start of another fire.

Exiting the beer truck, Menard is then seen "stumbling, and after stopping by the side of a vehicle, he walked through the parking lot and fell face first to the ground." Rising to his feet, Menard is then seen struggling to regroup as he stumbled into a neighboring parking lot.

After searching the first vehicle followed by the Bud Light van, police reportedly found cleaning rags hanging on the steering wheels for the purpose of starting fires.

Where's Menard?

On Dec. 15, Bonneville County authorities met with Menard and a family member where authorities learned the 58-year-old was a differently-abled citizen with a processing delay. When asked, Menard confirmed with a nod that he had set fire to the vehicles.

After police issued an arrest warrant, Menard failed to appear in court on Jan 4. A bench warrant was issued without a set court date.

If proven guilty, Menard could be imprisoned for up to 20 years and receive $100,000 in fines.

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