Bail reduction denied for arson suspect

Judge Dan Wilson denied Jan. 4 a request to lower bail for a 23-year-old accused of setting fire to his family’s Whitefish Stage Road home in December. 

Jason Jerald Andreaus Meyer pleaded not guilty to a single count of arson in Flathead County District Court prior to the Jan. 4 bail modification hearing. Prosecutors charged him with the felony after he allegedly admitted to sparking the Dec. 20 blaze to investigators. 

Meyer has remained in the Flathead County Detention Center with bail set at $150,000 since his arrest. In seeking Meyer’s release, defense attorney William Managhan described the 23-year-old as a lifelong Flathead Valley resident and Flathead High School graduate. If bail were lowered, Meyer would stay with a relative in Kila, Managhan said. 

While conceding that Meyer faced serious allegations, Managhan argued that he had no prior felonies and no history of violence. The fire was lit “in the daytime on a trailer,” Managhan said. “My client was the one who notified everyone and got them out.”

When first responders arrived at the Whitefish Stage Road property, they found the trailer engulfed in flames, according to court documents. While authorities credited Meyer with warning the trailer’s inhabitants, which included his parents, about the spreading fire, he later allegedly copped to setting the blaze.

Meyer told investigators he tossed a cigarette into a pile of oil or gas soaked clothes before lighting a curtain on fire, court documents said. 

County Attorney Travis Ahner, who is prosecuting the case, opposed a reduction in bail, pointing to Meyer’s history of traffic citations and at least one instance of failing to appear for a court appointment. 

As for the seriousness of the arson charge, Ahner was blunt.

“Mr. Meyer lit a trailer house on fire. That had occupants in it,” he told the court.

Denying Managhan’s request, Wilson pointed to the portion of the affidavit of probable cause describing the fire’s start, that Meyer allegedly lit the blaze following an argument with a relative. 

Meyer’s actions “indicate a reckless disregard for the safety and lives of others,” Wilson said. 

Wilson set an omnibus hearing date of April 17 for the case with Meyer expected back in court for a June 4 pretrial conference. If convicted, Meyer faces up to 20 years in Montana State Prison and a $50,000 fine.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.