A Wayne man is set to go to trial before a Wayne County jury next week on charges of attempted murder for an incident that took place in Livonia.

Jonathan Darlington, 46, has a jury trial scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning before Wayne County Judge Dana Hathaway in Detroit’s Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, according to online court records. Darlington is charged with wo counts of attempted murder, two counts of first-degree arson, two counts of placing offensive substance with intent to cause physical injury, one count of arson-preparation to burn a dwelling and habitual offender fourth offense.

If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

Livonia police said Darlington and several other individuals were squatting Sept. 19 in a building in the 27800 block of Plymouth Road, just west of Inkster, last fall when Darlington set the building on fire.

One witness, an individual staying in the building with Darlington, said during his preliminary examination last fall that Darlington had gotten into an argument with her and asked her to leave the building. She said he then struck her with a wrench. She and another individual then went to another part of the building and proceeded to go to sleep. The two later woke up to smoke and fire in the building.

Police and firefighters were called to the scene that morning by one of the victims. Crews put out the fire and Darlington was later arrested by police under suspicion of starting the blaze. The Livonia Fire Department’s report indicated some kind of accelerant was poured onto a stack of paper and books before it was set ablaze.

Darlington was bound over to circuit court back in October by 16th District Judge Sean Kavanagh, who found there to be probable cause for all the charges. He remains locked up in the Wayne County Jail without bond, where he has been since September.

dveselenak@hometownlife.com | 734-678-6728 Twitter: @DavidVeselenak