Arson Suspect Arrested In Minden Township

(KNSI) – A man was arrested after allegedly setting a house on fire and making threatening statements.

Around 1:00 on Tuesday afternoon, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home in the 7000 block of Highway 95 Northeast in Minden Township for a 29-year-old Sauk Rapids man suffering mental health emergency. The 911 caller said the man had a gun and threatened to burn down his home.

First responders arrived and found a detached garage completely engulfed in flames. Deputies found the 911 caller, who stated the man had called him earlier in the day in distress so they rushed to the house and that’s when they found the garage on fire. The caller said the man was still on the property and attempted to leave in a minivan so they used their vehicle to stop him. Eventually, the man crashed the minivan into a shed and fled out of sight.

Deputies say as they were gathering this information, gunshots were heard coming from nearby. Law enforcement began to secure the scene when the fire spread to the attached garage. Additional gunshots came from the area as police searched for the man who was found on the property with several weapons nearby. He struggled with officers who were trying to detain him.

Once the scene was secured, firefighters from the Sauk Rapids Fire Department and Foley Fire Department began to put out the flames that had now also engulfed the home. The house and garage were severely damaged by the flames.

The man was taken to the St. Cloud Hospital by Mayo Ambulance, where he was evaluated and stabilized. He was then taken to the Benton County Jail, where he is being held on suspicion of first and second-degree arson, second-degree assault, and a fifth-degree drug charge.

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Minnesota State Fire Marshall’s Office, Foley Police Department, State Patrol, DNR Conservation Officers, Sauk Rapids Police Department, Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force, and the Sartell Police Department.

KNSI News does not typically name suspects until they’re formally charged.

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