UNION CITY — A local resident has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly starting a fire that killed a 66-year-old roommate in his home, court records show.
Christopher Schwenk, 33, allegedly burnt down his own home by playing with a lighter while high on methamphetamine, and was turned in by his own mother after the deadly blaze, police said in court records. The victim, 66-year-old Ronald Myers, died from smoke inhalation and suffered burns during the Sept. 23, 2024 fire, authorities said.
Schwenk was charged on Jan. 2 with involuntary manslaughter, a felony. He is being held with no bail amount registered in the jail system, and is next due in court on Jan. 16, records show.
This is not the first time Schwenk has faced criminal charges for a person’s untimely death; the last time, he walked out of jail a free man. He was charged with murder in 2019 for allegedly killing his dad, Troy Schwenk, but the case was later dismissed, according to media reports and court records.
This time around, police and fire crews were called to a home on the 33400 block of 14th Street in Union City for a report of a fire. The 911 call was made by Schwenk’s mother at around 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 23, authorities said.
“‘My son was playing with his lighter thingy and I told him to stop it,” Schwenk’s mother allegedly told the 911 operator. She later told police that her son had been using methamphetamine and making her nervous by messing with lighters in the home.
When police interviewed Schwenk, they said he showed “no emotion,” and “said nothing,” when police asked him how he felt about the situation. He confirmed the fire started in the room he shared with his mother, but didn’t elaborate, police said in court filings.
Myers’ fiancée, who also lived in the home, told police that she overheard a loud argument between the mom and son before the fire, then woke up Myers after discovering part of the residence was engulfed in flames. She and Myers made it out of the burning building, but Myers later died at a hospital, authorities said.