A Butler man accused of arson had his bond reduced Monday in district court as he waived his right to a pair of preliminary hearings.

Tyler J. Barkman, 27, has been held in Butler County Prison on $35,000, but District Judge William Fullerton agreed to reduce the bond to $10,000, but with conditions.According to the conditions, Barkman must wear a SCRAM alcohol monitoring bracelet and not have contact with the victim related to his arson case.Barkman had two preliminary hearings scheduled Monday morning.In the first case, Barkman was charged with one misdemeanor count of criminal mischief by Butler Police after he allegedly caused damage to the Metro PCS store on Main Street. Those charges had been filed Feb. 8, and he had been released on his own recognizance.Less than three weeks later, on Feb. 27, state police arrested Barkman, charging him with felony arson, as well as misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. He was also charged with other related citations.According to charging documents, the fire Barkman allegedly started came at the tail end of a number of domestic disputes with the victim.The documents noted the victim first called 911 Feb. 26 and alleged Barkman threatened to set fire to their house and kill their dog.According to documents, about 2 1/2 hours later, the victim called 911 again about a possible break-in. Police said when they arrived at the victim's home, they found a decorative window smashed, but as they searched the home, they did not find an intruder.“We made our way to the second floor, where the dog was safely located in a back bedroom,” said the investigating officer in the affidavit.The documents said an hour after the smashed window call, one of Barkman's friends called 911 about Barkman's vehicle, which had its tires slashed. Police said they found a blue Ford SUV belonging to Barkman's father with its tires “obviously flattened.”Police said they talked with Barkman, and he grew agitated as they shifted the conversation toward the broken window at the victim's house. Barkman admitted to having issues with the victim and believed the victim slashed the SUV's tires.According to documents, shortly after 2 a.m. Feb. 27, the victim again called 911, this time to report that they saw Barkman light her front porch on fire.Police said they later found and arrested Barkman wearing the same clothes as when they talked to him earlier, specifically noting a green hoodie.“At the time of the arrest, I witnessed there to be a small burn hole in the fabric of Barkman's green hooded sweat shirt on the left side that had not been present during our previous conversation,” said the officer in the affidavit.According to documents, the victim later told police that they saw Barkman light a box on fire that was sitting on the porch, and they managed to push it off into the grass, where city firefighters later doused it.Police also noted in the affidavit that the victim's apartment building was split into two apartments, both of which are occupied.Barkman is scheduled to appear next for a formal arraignment May 11 in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas.

Tyler Barkman