Man pleads guilty to arson in St. Paul apartment fire
A Faribault man has entered a petition to plead guilty in connection to a St. Paul apartment fire from early 2022.
Court records show that 40-year-old Timothy Satin Thigpen pleaded guilty to first-degree arson on Thursday, which was when his jury trial had been set to start.
In exchange for his plea, the other first-degree arson charge against him will be dismissed.
RELATED: St. Paul man charged with arson in overnight apartment fire
The charges stemmed from a fire in the 1500 block of Marion Street late on the night of Feb. 23, 2022.
Court documents state that officers initially responded to an order for protection violation but Thigpen locked himself in an apartment bedroom and refused to come out. He then allegedly started the room on fire, causing residents to be evacuated from the building.
Eventually, he surrendered and was arrested. However, by that time, the fire was “out of control” and firefighters had to come and extinguish the flames, according to a criminal complaint.
The woman who had the order for protection lost her cat in the fire but nobody else was hurt. Several units were damaged by the fire, though.
His sentencing is now set for Sept. 20.