A Whitefish man pleaded no contest to charges of felony arson in Flathead County District Court on Jan. 22, more than 15 months after he set his ex-girlfriend’s parent’s home on fire.
James Wallace Langley, 35, was charged with felony arson after DNA evidence connected him to an oilcan at the scene of the fire.
According to court documents, the Whitefish Fire Department responded to an early morning fire on Oct. 8, 2013 on Highland Drive. One of the residents told police that a flash outside their window woke them. When they looked into their yard they found an oilcan and the siding on the house on fire. The resident put the fire out but later the man noticed smoke was coming out of the light fixtures.
The homeowners told detectives that they believed their daughter’s ex-boyfriend, Langley, had set the fire. Langley denied the allegations and let police take a DNA sample from him. Later, Langley admitted that he was at the victims’ house early Oct. 8. The DNA evidence Langley voluntarily gave later connected him to the oilcan and he was charged with arson on Feb. 3, 2014.
Langley changed his plea from not guilty to no contest in court on Jan. 22. A plea agreement states that the county prosecutor will recommend a six-year differed sentence and require Langley to pay more than $2,500 in restitution.