Sep 23, 2015 3 min read

A Chartiers Township man was ordered to stand trial on charges including attempted arson after he allegedly tried to set fire to his car while it was parked outside his home during a domestic dispute with his wife earlier this month.

Roger Lee Kelley, 52, of 274 Castle Road, Washington Estates mobile home park, was also ordered held for court on two counts of disorderly conduct and one count each of reckless endangerment and public drunkenness by District Judge Ethan Ward following a hearing Wednesday in Central Court. Charges of arson and causing or risking a catastrophe were withdrawn by the prosecution.

Denise Knotts Kelley testified that her husband was very intoxicated when she called 911 in the early morning hours of Sept. 13. She said she feared he was going to burn his car after his son reportedly gave Kelley an ultimatum to stop drinking.

Assistant District Attorney Traci McDonald asked her if she remembered what she told the 911 dispatcher.

“Everything was so clouded and frightening, I have difficulty recalling what I told 911,” Knotts Kelley said.

During redirect questioning, McDonald had county Detective Beverly Ashton play the recording of the 911 call.

“He is setting fire to his car as we speak,” Knotts Kelley is heard telling the dispatcher. She also tells the dispatcher that he put a can under the car and lit a paper towel.

Knotts Kelley testified that she has no idea why she told the dispatcher that, but that she was trying to get someone there as quickly as possible.

Township police Sgt. Ronald Raymond testified that he could smell a strong odor of kerosene as soon as he got out of his cruiser. He found a can containing kerosene. He also found a wet paper towel in a garbage can outside the house. The towel had two holes that looked like it might have been burned, Raymond added. There also was a sheen from a flammable substance on the trunk of the car.

Knotts Kelley explained under cross-examination by Public Defender Glenn Alterio that the two had been married for two years but she never changed her name and usually goes by Denise Knotts. She told Alterio that when her husband drinks, his actions become very different and that it affects the ammonia level in his body. During Raymond’s testimony, Kelley and his wife exchanged glances several times and nodded at each other.

Kelley remains in Washington County jail on $100,000 with orders to have no contact with his wife.