Michigan man acquitted in Merrillville house fire arson case

A jury on Thursday acquitted a Michigan man of setting fire to the home of a Merrillville man who was on several dates with his ex-girlfriend.

Joseph Desi, 39, of Buchanan, Michigan, was found not guilty on both counts of arson (a Level 4 felony).

Assistant District Attorney Gary Marek, along with co-counsel Adam Martin, said Tuesday that Desi set fire to the man's garage in a “fit of rage” shortly after midnight on May 21, 2022. The fire destroyed the man's home and spread to a neighbor's house.

Defense attorney Russell Brown argued the evidence was weak, including a blurry surveillance video. He also said Desi had sold a truck seen on the video a few months before the fire.

On Thursday, Desi's co-worker and friend Roshanta Collins testified that they met at a nearby 24-hour McDonald's, 2900 81st Ave., in Merrillville, where he lent her $1,000 to pay her bills.

In testimony Monday, Collins initially said she wasn't entirely sure what day they met that weekend, but later noted that she had noted in a calendar that they met just before midnight on Friday, May 20, 2022 – the time of the fire.

In her opening statements Tuesday, Russell told jurors that her testimony was corroborated by cellphone records. Collins initially thought they met on Saturday night. The cellphone showed Desi was in the area on Friday but in Michigan on Saturday.

Police were called to the 3300 block of W. 79th Place shortly after midnight on May 21, 2022, where a house was “completely engulfed in flames.”

The man who lived there said everyone was fine. He was in bed when he heard a “bang,” the house “shook,” and he heard “crackling noises.” At first he thought it was lightning.

A neighbor knocked on his door and said his house was also on fire.

A nearby security camera caught a man walking into the open garage of the first house and then running down the street. A witness said he saw a dark-colored “suspicious truck” ten minutes before an “explosion.”

The man said he discovered his garage in flames. He was only able to save two of three cats in the house and lost about $400,000 worth of property, including the car and motorcycle in the garage.

A woman told police the man took her on a date on his motorcycle on May 13, 2022. Desi, her ex-boyfriend, “confronted” her after she got home.

He was probably watching her house. Desi was “extremely possessive” and “jealous.”

He came “unannounced” from Michigan to leave notes and flowers on her car. He was “controlling” and “desperate” to get back together with her.

On May 20, 2022, the woman met the man again. When he told her the house had been set on fire, she became “suspicious.” She checked and found two tracking devices under her car.

The woman recognized Desi's car on surveillance footage and was “physically disturbed.” She said he had no reason to be there other than her.

A Merrillville fire inspector concluded that the fire was spread by a “flammable liquid.”

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