Man Charged In Apple Valley Arson Case
HASTINGS, Minn. (WCCO) – A 21-year-old man is accused of intentionally setting fire to an Apple Valley home last Friday with six people inside, according to charges filed in Dakota County Court on Tuesday.
Aaron Michael Ferrarese of Apple Valley was charged with one count of first-degree arson and one count of second-degree arson in connection with the incident.
According to a criminal complaint, fire crews were dispatched at about 1:22 a.m. last Friday to a residence on Fridley Way on a report of a fire. When authorities arrived, the house was fully engulfed in flames.
Police spoke to an elderly couple who lived at the residence, and they told police a strange noise woke them up. They went to the front door of the home and there were flames on the inside and outside of the door about three feet around. The couple told police they believed the fire was arson.
The couple woke up four juvenile girls who were staying at the house that night as guests of their granddaughter. All six people got out of the house through the back door.
Witnesses at the scene told authorities they believed Ferrarese was responsible for the fire, according to the complaint. Witnesses said Ferrarese had a grudge against the grandson of the homeowner because he felt the grandson got away with things and had things coming to him. The witness told police that Ferrarse had threatened to burn the house down.
Ferrarese called a friend of his at about 1 a.m. last Friday to tell the friend that he had either set the house on fire or had taken care of the grandson, the complaint states.
Ferrarese was later interviewed by police, and he told investigators he had put some gasoline in a yellow pop can, drove to the house and started a fire on the porch. He said he didn't know anyone was in the house and wanted the grandson to feel some pain because he said the grandson got away with everything, the complaint states.
Ferrarese faces up to 30 years in prison and/or $40,000 in fines if convicted.
