Man charged with stealing, burning car

A Kenai man has been arrested after allegedly stealing a car and setting it on fire.

Kenai Police Department officers arrested Kenny Kitchen, 25, of Kenai, in connection with a car fire on Float Plane Road reported around 8:05 a.m. Sunday. The Kenai Police Department responded to calls about a burning vehicle on the road and began investigating, interviewing witnesses and locating the owner.

The owner was asleep at the time and didn’t know the vehicle had been stolen, said Kenai Police Sgt. Paul Cushman. The witnesses to the fire described someone fleeing the scene, Cushman said.

“Shortly thereafter, there was another call that came into the department of someone stealing a bicycle,” he said. “The person that had stolen the bicycle matched the description of the person (witnesses had seen).”

The officers connected the dots and arrested Kitchen.

Kitchen was charged with one count of vehicle theft in the first degree, a class C felony; one count of arson in the third degree, a class C felony; and theft in the fourth degree, a class B misdemeanor. He was taken to Wildwood Correctional Facility and arraigned Monday.

Reach Elizabeth Earl at elizabeth.earl@peninsulaclarion.com.

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