Horicon Man Given Jail Time For 2016 House Fire

(Horicon) A Horicon man who set fire to a building he was renting out was in court for his sentencing hearing yesterday Wednesday. Michael Hansen entered a no contest plea to a felony charge of Arson Of a Building With Intent To Defraud and was sentenced to 240 days in jail with work release privileges. The 71-year-old was also placed on probation for five years. Hansen owned the West Lake Street property in Horicon that was damaged by fire in July of 2016. The home was being rented to his son. Nearby witnesses observed Hansen at the property roughly 15 to 20 minutes before the blaze started. One neighbor said that Hansen told him that his kid and girlfriend wrecked the house and that he could always burn it down and get the insurance money. When questioned, Hansen said his son had not paid him rent in over a year; he denied that he entered the home the day of the fire. Hansen later changed his story, admitting to going in the house for about five minutes and also said that he checked out the utility room. The investigation revealed that the fire originated in the utility room and that its cause was classified as “incendiary.”