A 54-year-old man accused of setting fires to a pair of South Kitsap homes was charged Sept. 15 in Kitsap County District Court.

Gregory James Kristudek, 54, Port Orchard, has been charged with two counts of first-degree arson.

According to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, Kristudek was arrested Sept. 13. Bail was set at $1 million.

Deputy Scott Wilson, KCSO spokesman, said both fires occurred within approximately 700 yards of each other within an hour. The first was reported at 2:31 p.m. by a 27 year-old woman residing in an apartment residence in the 1400 block of Arnold Avenue East. The woman called 911 and reported she believed the fire was set by her father, whom she observed walking away from her house. The fire was reportedly set in an upstairs bedroom.

The woman provided a description of the man to law enforcement agencies.

Wilson said at 3:18 p.m., a 71-year-old woman called 911 and reported a suspicious man was at her home in the 1200 block of Beach Drive East. She reported the man had been peering into her windows and banging on her front door. She went to a neighbor’s home to notify authorities.

Wilson said the he description of the man that the elderly woman provided matched that of the suspect from the Arnold Avenue fire. A KCSO deputy arrived at the home about 3:20 p.m., spotted the suspect and confronted him. The man ignored the deputy’s verbal commands and continued to walk away. After a brief physical encounter, the suspect was placed into custody, according to Wilson.

“The man appeared by sight and smell to be heavily intoxicated,” Wilson said. “His clothing was contaminated with human waste. He was physically uncooperative and verbally aggressive to both sheriff’s deputies and South Kitsap Fire and Rescue emergency responders during the encounter.”

Wilson said while deputies were placing the suspect into a patrol car, a motorist stopped to report that the house on Beach Drive was on fire.

SKFR crew responded to the second fire and additional patrol units to help with traffic control. The Bremerton Fire Department also provided assistance.

The motorist, a 54-year-old man, entered the two-story home to check to see if anyone was inside the home. He was forced out of the building by the smoke and treated by SKFR emergency personnel for smoke inhalation. He was transported by medic unit to a hospital for further evaluation and treatment, reported Wilson.

No other people were known to be inside the burning house.

Wilson said investigators believe the man entered the apartment and intentionally set fire in a bedroom.

Deputies also learned the suspect had been driven to Arnold Drive as a favor by neighbors. The neighbors returned a short time later to pick-up the suspect and saw the house was on fire. The neighbors dropped the suspect off at a park-and-ride lot and then called 911 concerning the man’s suspicious actions.

Wilson noted the neighbors are not involved in this investigation in any capacity other than as witnesses.

Once the suspect left the park-and-ride lot, deputies believe that the suspect approached the woman’s house on Beach Drive East and demanded to be let inside. When the woman left her home, the suspect forced his way inside and intentionally set the second fire, according to court documents.

The cause and point of origin of both fires is under investigation by the Kitsap County Fire Marshal’s Office.