A Burlington woman allegedly burned a man’s military clothing and pins.
Maureen Kay Smith, 41, of the 300 block of Lewis Street, was charged with a felony count of arson of property other than a building and misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct.
According to a criminal complaint: On Oct. 11, deputies with the Racine County Sheriff’s Office were sent to the 4300 block of Lake Street for burnt clothing that had been left on a tarp.
Upon arrival, deputies found children’s clothes, military uniforms, a melted box of military pins and some particle board burned.
The owner of the items said they were worth around $500 and said Smith was the one who burned them. He said they were stored in her basement storage locker and she was the only one who had access to them.
He said the particle board was a project the two of them were going to do together. He then provided text messages from Smith’s daughter that said “she’s gathering all your stuff. She’s gonna burn it.”
On Monday, deputies went to Smith’s residence and found particle board matching the burnt one in the backyard. They also saw a burnt piece of child’s clothing in the bed of her truck. She said all the burnt items were things she had provided to the man’s mother. She denied burning the items and said she would have burned all of his belongings instead of just a portion as was alleged.
Smith was given a $5,000 signature bond in Racine County Circuit Court on Tuesday. A preliminary hearing is on Nov. 3 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, online court records show.
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