Union City man sentenced to time he already served in deadly house fire

DUBLIN — A man who burnt down his Union City home by playing with a lighter while high on methamphetamine has accepted a plea deal and been sentenced to two years in prison, with one major caveat — he has already served the time.

Christopher Schwenk, 34, pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter in the Sept. 23, 2024 house fire that killed 66-year-old Ronald Myers, an occupant of the home. He was formally sentenced and released from jail in mid-May.

Court records say the occupants — including Schwenk, Myers, Myers’ fiancee, and Schwenk’s mom — all escaped the blaze safely. But Myers went back into the burning home to get his wallet, and suffered an “inhalation injury” that led to his death at a hospital nearly six hours later.

Police and fire crews were called to a home on the 33400 block of 14th Street in Union City for a report of a fire, when Schwenk’s mom called 911 a little after 3 a.m.

“My son was playing with his lighter thingy and I told him to stop it,” Schwenk’s mother allegedly told the 911 operator. She later told police that her son had been using methamphetamine and making her nervous by messing with lighters in the home. The two were arguing when police arrived, authorities said.

Deputy Public Defender Daniel Duvernay, who represented Schwenk, wrote in a court memorandum that Schwenk accidentally lit his own jacket on fire and wasn’t able to extinguish the blaze.

Schwenk was charged in January 2025. Much of the court process was dedicated to helping him get sober. In May 2025 he was released from jail on GPS monitoring to a drug rehabilitation center, but absconded three months later after telling a counselor he didn’t want to get clean, according to court records. He was subsequently arrested and remained jailed until the case was finished.

Though Schwenk spent roughly 383 days in custody, he was given double credit for time served due to good behavior, court records show.

Schwenk’s criminal history includes a time where he beat murder charges. In 2019 prosecutors accused him of killing his dad, Troy Schwenk, but the case was later dismissed, according to media reports and court records.