probationary firefighter with the Garrison Fire Department was arraigned Tuesday on three counts of first degree arson for his alleged part in a string of arsons in the area.
Darik Jon Booth, 18, of Deerwood, was arrested on Saturday following a three-week investigation into three suspicious fires that had apparently been set in the Bay Lake area near Garrison.
A tip from somebody who saw a vehicle in the area of one of the fires led to the arrest, Deputy State Fire Marshal Mark Germain said Monday. Following his arrest, the Crow Wing County Sheriff Dick Ross said that Booth confessed to setting the fires.
Garrison Fire Chief Kari Hough said the suspect had been involved with the fire department for a few years, but he was officially hired on July 16 when he reached the legal age for hiring by the city.
In the criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Crow Wing County District Court, Booth was charged with the fires that burned homes belonging to Frederick Hrachovina, Shawn Fetters and the cabin of Milan Ladisalv Sebek.
In the case of the Fetters fire, Booth apparently burned the home because he was unhappy that an ex-girlfreind would not go out with him. Booth indicated that he set the residences on fire rather than the garages because he wanted the experience as a firefighter.
The criminal complaint indicates that he told authorities that in each case he knocked on the doors to make sure there was no one in the residences before setting the fires.
Since the Hrachovina and Sebek fires were set while Booth was still a juvenile, County Attorney Don Ryan said Tuesday that petitions will now have to be filed to get them transferred to juvenile court. Following the transfer, Ryan said that he intends to ask to have Booth tried as an adult. With the uncertainty of the charge status, Ryan said that the next court date has yet to be set. Booth was ordered held on $10,000 bail or $30,000 bond.
For each of the charges tried in adult court, Booth faces a possible maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine.
