Police: Man Threatens to Burn Ex's Avon Home

A local man threatened to burn down a Birchwood Drive home hours after arguing with his ex about money, police said.

Derek Joseph Rego, 44, was charged with disorderly conduct and second-degree threatening last Friday after the incident. Rego appeared in court that day and hasn't entered a plea yet, according to the state judicial website. 

Rego – whose address is listed in the arrest log as PO Box 23 in Simsbury – had only been staying with the victim at her home for a few days before he got angry about money she had, police said. Police reports identify her as both his ex-girlfriend and ex-wife. He left after arguing with her about it around 1 p.m. last Thursday, police said.

Close to 11 p.m. that evening, he called her and threatened to burn her house down, police said. The woman told police that Rego sounded intoxicated, though police have not confirmed that information.

Police arrested him the following morning, close to 1 a.m. on Jan. 4, and held him in custody until they brought him to court later that day. He did not post a $5,000 surety bond before his court date, police said.

Rego previously had a history of criminal trespass, larceny and probation violation convictions in Simsbury that spans from 2004 to 2008, according to the state judicial website.

In November of 2011, Rego pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal trespass after an incident months earlier, judicial records state. Most recently, he was charged with violating his probation in April of 2012.

Rego's next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 25.