The man accused of setting a deadly apartment fire is getting support from members of his church, some of whom have offered to take him into their homes if he’s able to get out of jail on bond.

An attorney for Jason A. Rose told a judge Tuesday that if Rose is able to make bond before trial, he could stay with one of several people from Victory Bible Church who have offered to take him in. Attorney Tim Frieden cited that support as one reason to lower Rose’s $500,000 bond to between $50,000 and $100,000.

But prosecutor Amy McGowan said she opposed making it easier for Rose to get out of jail, given the death and destruction caused by the Oct. 7 fire at Boardwalk Apartments.

In the end, Judge Jack Murphy declined Rose’s request, saying he thought $500,000 was appropriate given the severity of the charges: three counts of murder, one count of aggravated arson and eight counts of aggravated battery.

Rose entered a not-guilty plea to those charges Tuesday. Murphy set Rose’s trial for Sept. 18.

The names of people offering to house Rose weren’t mentioned during Tuesday’s hearing.

But afterward, Victory Bible’s pastor, the Rev. Leo Barbee Jr., said he wasn’t surprised people from the church were showing their support.

“I’m sure there’s a bunch of them, because we don’t really think he’s guilty,” Barbee said. “We don’t think there was any intention” of burning down the building.

Barbee said congregation members had been writing letters to Rose and paying him visits since he was arrested and charged with setting the fire.

At a preliminary hearing last month, a detective testified that Rose admitted setting a box full of paperwork on fire on the balcony of the 76-unit building. He told police it was full of cards and pictures from his parents and that he was angry about receiving it.

Rose grew up in foster care but had moved out on his own just weeks before the fire. His attorneys argued at the preliminary hearing that there was no evidence he actually meant to burn down the building.

The fire killed Kansas University student Nicole Bingham, electrician Jose Gonzalez and social worker Yolanda Riddle.