FAYETTEVILLE -- A former pastor has been arrested after investigators said he started a fire that burned down his home last year in Winslow, according to a probable-cause affidavit released Tuesday.
Jon Hughes Allen, 72, surrendered to law enforcement officials Monday and was charged with one count of arson. He was released from the Washington County jail the same day on a $5,000 bond, according to jail records.
"They are trying to say that I burned it down, which I did not do," Allen said Tuesday. "That's about all there is to it."
Allen was a pastor at Lake Hills Baptist Church about 2009, when the church faced foreclosure. He said he's no longer the church's pastor, and the fire wasn't connected to the church.
The phone number listed for the church is disconnected.
Allen is accused of starting the fire that destroyed his 1940s, two-story home to collect insurance of at least $100,000, according to the affidavit.
The home was appraised at $90,800 in 2015 before it burned, county property records show. Allen said the home was worth more than the county's appraisal.
Property records show the home also had been behind on taxes. About $1,673 in taxes for 2011 through 2013 were paid in 2015, records show.
Firefighters arrived about 4:26 p.m. June 23 after an automatic fire alarm went off at the home at 21968 S. U.S. 71, according to the affidavit. The alarm went off at 4:10 p.m., according to the affidavit.
Heavy black smoke was rolling out of the house and flames were shooting out, according to the affidavit.
Allen was outside dressed in a white jumpsuit. He said he saved several things, including his daughter's wedding dress. The surviving items were neatly stacked and folded about 40 yards from the fire, according to the report. Allen's clothes, hands and face showed no sign of soot, according to the affidavit.
Metro on 05/18/2016