A 50-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to setting a house on fire in Nanakuli and damaging neighboring homes.

Jonathan Laronal appeared in Circuit Court today via closed-circuit video link from the Oahu Community Correctional Center on charges of one count of first-degree arson and two counts of fourth-degree arson.

A deputy public defender entered a not guilty plea to all charges on Laronal’s behalf. Circuit Judge Colette Garibaldi set his trial for April and confirmed his bail at $50,000.

An Oahu grand jury had charged Laronal with arson in connection with a large fire that destroyed a single-story structure and damaged neighboring homes on Mikana Street in the early morning hours of Jan. 30.

Police arrested Laronal later that morning after he returned to the scene. Court documents said a police officer overheard him admit to a captain of the Honolulu Fire Department that he set the house on fire.