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UPDATE: Bond set for two men arrested in connection with alleged arson that burned Day Meadows apartments
The Mountain Home Police Department have arrested Beau Michel, 24, for arson in the first degree and Storm Woodin, 18, for felony accessory (after the fact), and felony concealing evidence, both in connection with the arson Thursday morning that heavily damaged the Day Meadows apartment complex and sent one man to the burn center in Utah.
They were arraigned before Elmore County Magistrate Judge David Epis Friday afternoon. Epis set bond for Michel at $500,000. If he posts bond, he is still required to meet with his attorney before the judge prior to his release from the Elmore County jail. He faces a maximum of up to 25 years in prison on the charges.
Bond for Woodin was set at $100,000. He faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison on each count.
Woodin has no criminal history.
Michel has a lengthy history that includes prison time in Florida from 2001-2012. There also is a current fugitive warrant from Florida out for his arrest, but the reasons weren't immediately revealed.
Michel told the judge that he was last employed six months ago and was staying with friends in the Mountain Home area by "couch surfing."
Investigators believe that Michel allegedly poured "an ignitable" substance (believed to be gasoline) on the ground floor area of the apartment complex and then set it afire.
County Prosecutor Kristina Schindele said "good police work," based on tips and concerns expressed by residents of Day Meadows concerning a possible vendetta by "a person" (believed to be Michel) against an unidentified resident of the complex, led to the arrests.
The only search warrant served by police Thursday was at the Day Meadows complex. Woodin apparently was staying temporarily with a resident there, but Michel was not living there.
Two residents of the complex were injured in the blaze, one burned badly enough on his back and extremities to be taken by air ambulance to the University of Utah burn center in Salt Lake City.
That burn victim, a male, and a female companion, both jumped from the second floor of the three-story complex to avoid the flames. The female suffered a broken bone in her lower leg and was treated at St. Luke's Elmore. Neither victim has been identified by police.
Mountain Home Fire Chief Alan Bermensolo said the two people injured in the blaze were not involved in the alleged dispute that was investigated. "They were just innocent bystanders," he said. Their current conditions are not known.
The injured male is an airman at Mountain Home Air Force Base, assigned to the 366th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, but base officials also declined to provide his name and age.
Fire crews were called out at approximately 4 a.m. Thursday morning to the low-income subsidized housing complex. When they arrived they found the back side of the building fully involved in flame.
Approximately two dozen people, both adults and children, lived in the complex. When ambulances arrived on the scene the two injured persons were helped to the ambulances by some of the residents of the complex who had fled the fire.
In addition, a COP who was handling crowd control and otherwise assisting at the scene, also was injured when he tripped, fell down and appeared to have broken a bone in his leg. Bermensolo noted it was one more example of people being hurt due to the consequences of the fire.
The city's fire chief Bermensolo added that city police, Idaho State Police and the state fire marshal's office launched an arson investigation almost as soon as the fire was out.
Every piece of city fire equipment was rolled to the scene and, after extinguishing the fire, both fire crews and police began a search of the facility for any other victims, but found none, although at least one dog and three cats died in the fire.
Bermensolo praised both the police department and the ambulance service for their work during the fire.
The back third of the building was essentially destroyed. Bermensolo estimated damage at approximately a quarter of a million dollars, including contents, from both flame and smoke damage.
The complex is composed of 12 units and those displaced by the fire where taken to the fire station where the county disaster coordinator and the Red Cross were available to begin assisting them.
Nine of the 10 families living in the damaged apartment complex had sought out help from the American Red Cross that morning, said Wade Gayler, regional director of emergency services with the Red Cross chapter in Boise.
In partnership with the Salvation Army, the Red Cross provided vouchers that will allow the 25 displaced individuals to stay in local motels for the next five days. The families also received additional vouchers to pay for their meals during that time.
To help those families replace clothing and food lost in the fire, the Red Cross also provided them families with additional financial help, Gayler said. While the families have a temporary place to stay, the Red Cross will assign caseworkers to continue to help them find alternative housing, he added. The goal is to work with them through their recovery until they have more permanent housing available.
For anyone wishing to help, it is suggested they make cash donations directly to the Red Cross or Salvation Army websites. Some Facebook sites also have been offering more specific help, such as clothing and toys for children of the families displaced by the fire.
Information and tips provided by the public, along with the joint investigation of the Mountain Home Fire Department, made the arrest late Thrusday afternoon possible, city police officials said.
"Thank you to our citizens and the different organizations that worked together today to help our residential victims with either the investigation, providing assistance, support, volunteering, information, media coverage, and etc.," a police spokesperson said in a prepared statement issued early Thursday evening.
The fire was the second one within two months in the city where an individual had suffered serious burns.