A preliminary hearing is scheduled next month for a St. Joseph man accused of setting fire to his apartment November 8th and forcing the evacuation of his neighbors.

As we reported, Rydell Rawls is charged with knowingly burning or exploding, a class-d felony.  During his first appearance earlier this week, Rawls told Associate Circuit Judge Keith Marquart he would apply for a public defender. Judge Marquart scheduled a preliminary hearing December 9th.

In court documents, St. Joseph police say Rawls set several items on fire in his apartment at 1602 Brookside, causing a  large disruption to the other building residents and forcing a response by the fire department.

Rawls is being held in the Buchanan County Jail unable to post $10,000 cash bail..