A 44-year-old man who allegedly set fire to a Niles garage has been charged with arson of real property — a felony carrying a 10-year penalty.

Det. Richard Krueger, of the Niles Police Department, said Todd Lee Holmes was arraigned on the charge earlier this month in Berrien County Trial Court.

Holmes is currently undergoing a forensic examination to determine if he is competent to stand trial.

Krueger said Holmes admitted to setting a fire on the exterior of an unattached garage in the 1300 block of Merrifield Avenue in Niles in the evening of Dec. 1, 2012.

Krueger said Holmes was living near the residence where the fire occurred at the time of the incident, but is no longer living there. Holmes was a suspect in the fire early on, but Krueger said he went “off the grid” and the department couldn’t find him until more recently.

At this time, Krueger said Holmes cannot be tied to a string of other fires that occurred near the same area in Niles in 2012.

Three fires damaged four properties located within a few blocks of each other in Niles on April 2, 2012. The fires all occurred within an hour of each other. The fires at 1603 Cass St. and 710 N. 13th St. — both vacant properties — were declared arson. The fire at 1329 Louis St. that damaged two occupied homes was classified as undetermined, but suspicious in nature.