The Free Press
LEWISVILLE, Minn. — A former Lewisville volunteer firefighter has been released from jail after making a court appearance Monday on arson charges and posting a $50,000 bail.
Firefighters were called to the Kyle Else residence on the western edge of Blue Earth County twice earlier this year. The garage of the house received the most damage during the fire on Feb. 11 and the house burned Feb. 18.
On Friday, charges were filed against Else and a warrant was issued for his arrest as officials were not aware of where he was staying.
Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Capt. Rich Murry said a deputy Friday evening located Else, who was doing farm work in the southern part of the county, and arrested him without incident. He was jailed until appearing in court Monday.
Investigators were immediately suspicious about the second fire because it was unlikely the first fire had reignited after a week, the weather had been extremely cold and all of the utilities had been disconnected, according to a criminal complaint filed in Blue Earth County District Court. Else, 40, also had reported the second fire directly to Lewisville Fire Chief James Poppe instead of calling 911. Else had been a volunteer at the Lewisville department for eight to 10 years, the complaint said.
Else’s girlfriend is one of several people who told investigators they were suspicious about the second fire. She said Else told her someone broke into the house and stole her jewelry prior to the second fire and that he had visited his grandmother twice the night of that fire. His grandmother was sleeping during both visits, the girlfriend reported.
The state fire marshal told a sheriff’s deputy he had learned Else had made more than one fire insurance claim in the past. One involved a vehicle, another involved a shed at the same property as the house, and the third involved a rental property Else had in the Lake Crystal area.
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