Man Charged With Arson Has Bond Set at $1 Million | Video

Joel Porter | 8/15/2012

The man charged with burning down a Steele motel over the weekend had his first court appearance today. Alan Thomas is charged with arson. Today, A judge set Thomas` bond at one million dollars. The 50-year-old Texas native is in the mclean county jail right now.

His attorney had requested a $1,000 bond with ten percent due at release. His defender said Thomas doesn`t have any money or family in North Dakota and he has no mental issues.

However, prosecutors countered that Thomas is a threat to society and has failed to appear at past court dates.

"And given that set of circumstances, we strongly believe if given a chance to bond out, we may never see him again," said Kidder County State`s Attorney Eric Hetland.

The next step for Thomas will be his preliminary hearing, but that date has not been set yet.

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