St. Cloud Man Charged With Arson Following Apartment Fire

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- A St. Cloud man is facing arson charges after a fire at an apartment complex Tuesday afternoon.

Around 3:15 p.m., the St. Cloud Fire Department responded to a report of a residential building on fire in the 500 block of 8th Avenue South. When crews arrived, they found smoke coming out the windows of a unit on the third floor and quickly put out the fire.

Authorities say no victims were found inside the unit, and no one was hurt in the incident. Five of the apartments were damaged, and the people living in them are working with the property manager to find alternate housing.

Get our free mobile app

The man living in the unit that caught fire has been identified as 39-year-old James Lund. He has been charged with one count of first-degree arson.

According to the criminal complaint, St. Cloud Police responded to the scene and spoke with two men who lived in the building. One was a man who lived with Lund, and the other was a neighbor who spoke with Lund earlier in the day and said he appeared to have been under the influence of narcotics. Surveillance video from the building shows Lund leave his apartment at 3:08 p.m., walk across the hall, and bend down with something in his hand. The investigation after the fire revealed fresh burn marks in the carpet at that location.

In the video, Lund is seen returning to his apartment briefly, then going toward the stairwell to leave the building. According to court records, the video shows the man who lived with Lund opening the door to the apartment at 3:19 p.m. and black smoke pouring out near the ceiling.

Police found Lund near Fifth Avenue and Fourth Street South soon after, and say he had a butane lighter in his pocket. Records show he told police he did not start any fires in his apartment, was the last person to leave the unit, and did not smell any smoke when he left. According to the documents, he also told police that people with drones could have started the fire. He was arrested and taken to the Stearns County Jail.

The U.S. Fire Marshal determined the fire began on the living room floor of Lund's unit between the refrigerator and a wall with the AC unit. Records show investigators found a lighter and empty lighter refill in that area. Through their investigation, authorities ruled out electrical failures, accidental, and natural causes.

According to the documents, investigators found "kill judge" written on the wall of Lund's living room. He was arrested back on June 17th in connection with a car fire at Walgreens in St. Cloud and was assigned bail at his first hearing.

Records show he made bail on July 1st. He is facing arson and controlled substance charges in that case.