Surveillance footage helps police arrest suspect in 2 Lapeer fires
LAPEER — Authorities have announced an arrest has been made in connection with the two structure fires area fire departments battled last week.
Security cameras from multiple locations near both fires are reported to have helped authorities develop a suspect in the two cases.
An arrest and formal charges were filed against a 49-year-old Lapeer man. Information from Lapeer Fire & Rescue was shared with local police regarding the two fires allegedly set in the city early on Sept. 27.
The suspect, Andrew Christensen, was arraigned late last week on charges of:
- Arson, third degree
- Arson, third degree
- Habitual offender, fourth offense
The first two counts are 10-year felonies. The Lapeer County Prosecutor’s Office authorized the charges last week following an investigation.
On Sunday, Sept. 27, around midnight, emergency crews from the City of Lapeer and Elba Township were sent to a structure fire in the 300 block of North Jefferson, where the Golden Arrow Drop-In Center is located.
First arriving fire personnel reported active flames engulfing the rear of the building and a storage shed. Mutual aid departments from throughout Lapeer County, including Attica Township, were called to assist Lapeer Fire & Rescue.
A few minutes after the first fire was reported, Lapeer Fire & Rescue Chief Mike Vogt said a second call was received from Central Dispatch reporting another structure fire, this one in the 900 block of West Nepessing Street. The location of the fire was at a library where a small fire was burning near an entrance to the building.
Responding law enforcement personnel used fire extinguishers to douse the flames prior to fire departments responding. The fire caused minor exterior scorch marks on the building’s brick along with flames breaking nearby glass panels. The library sustained minor smoke damage inside the structure and was able to reopen late last week.
Lapeer Fire & Rescue personnel conducted their own investigation following the two fires, identifying both incidents as “arson caused by intentional application of open flame to combustible materials.”
Follow-up investigations by local law enforcement revealed a number of nearby locations had apparently captured images on surveillance cameras. Later in the investigation, the suspect was identified as being at both fire scenes and was arrested on an unrelated matter on Sept. 29, two days after the fires.
Christensen was interviewed by authorities and later lodged in the Lapeer County Jail awaiting further court action.
According to Lapeer Police, Christensen was heard on camera making explicit verbal threats to burn down the building hours before the fire was set.
Records show Christensen is also facing other charges of first-degree retail fraud and unlawful driving away in a motor vehicle from separate incidents.
He is being held on a $250,000 cash/surety bond and due back in court Oct. 9.
