Man charged in Edina apartment fire after investigators find pile of burned mail with his name on it
EDINA, Minn. — An Edina man was charged with arson on Thursday after investigators say surveillance video showed him lighting his mail on fire in the hallway of his apartment complex.
According to a criminal complaint, officers with the Edina Police Department responded to a call about a multi-residential fire alarm just after midnight on Tuesday, Dec. 3. The apartments were located along the 4000 block of 70th Street West.
Officers reported substantial water damage to different parts of the building due to the apartment building's fire suppressant system activating.
On the third floor of the building, officers discovered a lighter and a large pile of burned paper and mail with the suspect's name on it, the criminal complaint says.
The criminal complaint goes on to say that officers later learned that the suspect had numerous run-ins with law enforcement, including general disturbances, person-in-crisis calls and an incident where the suspect had made comments about wanting officers to shoot him.
Police obtained surveillance video from the apartment management company showing a person exiting a unit on the third floor with a large pile of papers in their hand and lighting that paper on fire near the elevators. The person is then seen leaving and not returning.
Later that evening, Edina police responded to a separate call at a nearby hotel where an individual was reported to have been causing a disturbance. The police say the individual was wearing the same clothes as the person in the surveillance video.
During the investigation, police discovered the man had been evicted from his apartment but allowed to stay in his unit until he found another place to live.
According to apartment management, the fire caused damage to over 25 units and estimated repairs will cost close to $100,000.
The man is not in custody at this time, but a warrant for his arrest has been issued as police work to locate him.