Racine Reefpoint Marina boat fire, Kenosha man arrested

RACINE, Wis. - A Kenosha man was arrested for arson after a boat fire at Racine's Reefpoint Marina Friday, Oct. 20.

According to the Racine County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called to the marina just after 5 a.m. after receiving a call that a boat was engulfed in flames. 

"It reeks of fire and charcoal, and it really got a lot of damage," said Sheriff's Lt. Michael Luell. 

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Sheriff's deputies, police and firefighters responded and put out the fire. The fire department said 22 firefighters responded to the scene.

"I can confidently state this was an intentional act to damage this boat," Luell said. "I’d say most arsons are normally a whodunit, but investigators were able to connect the dots pretty quickly."

Boat arson at Reefpoint Marina (Courtesy: RCSO)

Kenneth Koger

Sheriff’s investigators and the Arson Task Force identified 27-year-old Kenneth Koger as a suspect in the arson and took him into custody later Friday. Luell said authorities tracked Koger's movements and that he bought a lighter at a local gas station – and he also left something important at the scene.

"It’s believed he used that lighter as well as gasoline from the boat itself to pour the gasoline on the boat," said Luell. "There’s no such thing as a perfect crime, always going to leave something behind be it fibers, be it DNA, be it your fingerprint, then you can be even more careless and leave the actual item that caused the fire."

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Koger was taken to the Racine County Jail and held on two counts of arson. The sheriff's office said his cash bond set at $10,000.

Nobody was on the boat, and no injuries were reported. Luell said the dock was damaged and the boat, valued around $90,000, is a total loss.