A 28-year-old Milton man has been ordered to undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial on charges that he tried to set his parents’ home on fire while they were sleeping.
Mattie Salminen was ordered to undergo a 15-day evaluation at the Vermont State Hospital.
Court documents say Salminen was living in his parents’ home in Milton when he poured gasoline into a crawl space next to the house and set it on fire in late June.
Police say the fire sparked an explosion that woke the parents, who escaped without injury. The couple says their son has schizophrenia that is controlled by medication.
The Burlington Free Press reports that Salminen has been held for lack of $25,000 bail.