Matthew Amiot Arrested Again After Fleeing Rehabilitation Facility In Duluth
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The homeless man who pleaded guilty to the fire that destroyed a 117-year-old synagogue in Duluth was reportedly arrested again this week after fleeing a chemical dependency treatment facility.
A warrant issued Monday says that 36-year-old Matthew Amiot fled the Bethel Port Rehabilitation Program that day, just two hours after checking in to the facility. The Star Tribune reports that Amoit was arrested Tuesday night, when officers found him in a car in Duluth.
Last month, Amiot was sentenced to four years of probation with the possibility of a year and a day in prison if he violated the rules. He was also sentenced to a court treatment program and four hours of community service a month.
Amiot pleaded guilty last month to negligent fire charges in the blaze that destroyed the Adas Israel Synagogue. He told investigators that he set clothes on fire to keep warm and the flames got out of control, despite his attempt to put them out by spitting on them.
Following his guilty plea, Amiot was also arrested after violating the terms of his probation then when he skipped town to nearby Superior, Wisconsin.