POCATELLO — A 42-year-old local man has been charged with arson after authorities say he ignited a wildland fire near Buckskin Road with a lit match, then discarded a burned book and fled the area on foot.

Mitchell Bowser, of Pocatello, was arrested Aug. 22 on one count of arson in the third degree, following an incident that unfolded early that morning, according to police and court records the Idaho State Journal recently obtained.

In a criminal complaint filed in 6th District Court, prosecutors allege Bowser willfully and unlawfully damaged real or personal property belonging to another by fire,on West Buckskin Road.

Prosecutors have also filed notice they will seek a persistent violator sentencing enhancement against Bowser, citing previous felony convictions, court records show.

According to a detailed incident report, deputies were dispatched around 7:55 a.m. to the area of Buckskin Road and Terry Street, near the Bannock County line, for a report of a spreading brush fire. A responding deputy deployed a fire extinguisher to help slow the flames at the request of the North Bannock Fire Department chief, the report states.

A witness told deputies he saw a man throw something toward the fire before leaving on foot, according to the report. Two other witnesses separately told deputies they saw a man matching the same description — wearing a maroon shirt, shorts and white socks — walking away from the fire while talking to himself, the report states. Both witnesses pointed deputies to a burned leather-bound book near where the fire appeared to have started, according to the report.

A deputy searching the area located a man matching the description walking along Pocatello Creek Road, carrying two empty alcoholic beverage containers, the report states. The man identified himself as Bowser and initially denied having any matches or a lighter, though he told the deputy he had seen the fire start and described the intersection where it began.

Bowser then admitted to throwing a "bible or religious book" into a fire, though he claimed the book had not landed in the flames, the report states, adding that Bowser became visibly nervous as the deputy questioned inconsistencies in his account.

Bowser eventually told the deputy he had been carrying matches and, after lighting one, tripped and threw down both the matches and the book before walking away, the report states. He was subsequently arrested.

Deputies later recovered the book, and Bowser confirmed from the back of a patrol vehicle that it belonged to him, the report states.

He was transported to the Bannock County Jail, where he told a deputy he had used methamphetamine earlier that day, according to the report.

Bowser was then booked into jail on the third-degree arson charge. He appeared before 6th District Magistrate Judge David A. Hooste for an arraignment hearing via video conference from the jail on Monday, where his bond was set at $5,000.

Bowser is scheduled to appear in court again Sept. 3 for a preliminary hearing, where prosecutors will attempt to present sufficient evidence to elevate the case from magistrate to district court for trial.

If convicted of arson in the third degree, Bowser faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. If the persistent violator enhancement sought by prosecutors is applied, he could face a substantially longer sentence.