After the prosecution withdrew a plea agreement on Aug. 14  in the case of Makai “Mike” Martushoff, 59, the Kenai Grand Jury last week indicted him on first-degree criminal mischief, a felony. Martushoff originally had been charged with one count of first-degree arson, also a felony, but that charge has now been changed. First-degree criminal mischief is defined as intentionally damaging property worth more than $100,000 using widely dangerous means.

At the Aug. 14 hearing, Martushoff’s public defender, Hatton Greer, said his client had accepted an offer on July 26 to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of criminally negligent burning. With the Kenai District Attorney’s office withdrawing that plea agreement, under court rules Martushoff either would have had to be indicted or a preliminary hearing held within 10 days.

Martushoff was charged with allegedly burning a fishing boat in dry dock at the Northern Enterprises Boatyard on Oct. 29, 2012.

Police allege Martushoff intentionally set his father’s boat, the Slava II, on fire in an attempt to kill himself. The boat had major damage, but firefighters kept the fire from spreading to nearby boats. Martushoff suffered burn injuries and was hospitalized. He has either been hospitalized or in jail since then.