Update: Local Baseball Community Rallies After July 4th Fire Disaster

BECKER (WJON News) -- An alleged arson fire on the 4th of July destroyed all of the equipment for an area youth baseball organization.

The Becker Youth Baseball Association says the fire destroyed the storage facility holding all of the youth junior baseball equipment, including mounds, bats, catchers' gear, baseballs, nets, tees, and more.

They say, 'years of effort and investment were lost in minutes."

They are looking to replace the gear with a GoFundMe page.  So far, they've raised just over $2,000.

The Becker Police Department says just before 4:00 a.m. last Friday, July 4th, they were dispatched to Kolbinger Park for a possible fire.  Responding officers found a portable toilet on fire next to the park building.  The fire department helped put out the fire.  Officers found 18-year-old Ayden Moeller of Becker, who they say admitted to lighting a firework in the portable toilet, which caused the fire.

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Officers were called to another fire at the Becker Athletic Complex just before 7:00 a.m. on July 4th.  Officers found two portable toilets and a shed on fire.  They were destroyed.

Update (7/14):  The Becker Police Department investigated the fire and learned that an adult man and an adult woman had lit several fireworks in the portable toilets, which then caught fire and subsequently started the shed on fire.  Long-form complaint requests have been sent to the Sherburne County Attorney's Office for arson and criminal damage to property for both people.

The names of the two individuals have not been released.

The Becker Police Department is investigating both incidents.

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