Jason Loch, 31, a Milwaukee man accused of setting fire to the side of a New Berlin home while two adults and their 15-year-old daughter slept inside, was charged Thursday with arson and three counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety. A court commissioner set his cash bail at $1 million. If convicted on all counts, he could face decades in prison.
The criminal complaint, as reported by Greater Milwaukee Today, says a man and woman reported a fire at their Sunny Slope Road home. The residents used a garden hose to extinguish the flames before firefighters arrived. The fire melted a screen, cracked a window pane and left a soot burn scar across the middle portion of a bay window.
Surveillance Footage and a Familiar Face
The complaint says surveillance footage showed a man pouring fluid from a gas can onto an outside wall, lighting a fire under the bay window and running down the driveway. Investigators reportedly noted a strong gasoline smell in the fire debris. The homeowner told police he recognized Loch in the footage.
According to the complaint, police saw Loch's Jeep near 124th Street and Beloit Road at about 1:09 a.m. that night, minutes from the Sunny Slope Road address and around the time the fire began. Detectives later searched Loch's Prospect Avenue apartment in Milwaukee and said they found clothing they believed he had worn while setting the fire.
A Dispute Over Video Game Machines
The homeowner was a former business associate of Loch's late father, who had supplied video game machines to Matty's Bar and Grille before his death about a year before the fire. The complaint says Loch's mother took over the video game business afterward and Loch had worked for it. The homeowner believed a dispute over ownership of the business was behind the tension.
The complaint also describes an earlier dispute: On Aug. 8, Loch allegedly tried to remove video game machines from Matty's Bar and Grille and was later told he was no longer welcome there. At Thursday's bail hearing, Court Commissioner David Herring ordered Loch to maintain absolute sobriety and have no contact with the family at the Sunny Slope Road home or with Matty's Bar and Grille.
Loch's Account to Investigators
Loch told police he had been home between midnight and 2 a.m. on the night of the fire and said he did not know why officers would come to his apartment with a search warrant. He later told detectives he had no motivation to start the fire, then declined to speak with them further.
A Separate Milwaukee Arson Case
A separate Milwaukee case provides a point of comparison, though it involved an apartment building rather than a New Berlin home. FOX6 Milwaukee reported that a fire on Fardale Avenue near 27th and Loomis on Jan. 16, 2026, injured five residents. Keith Luko later pleaded guilty to arson and other felonies and was sentenced to prison.
Loch now faces up to 77.5 years in prison if convicted on all counts. He is due back in court Oct. 15 to discuss the status of his legal representation. The allegations outlined in the criminal complaint remain unproven in court, and no trial date has been set.
