St. Paul man sentenced to nearly 7 years for arson that killed cat, displaced residents

A St. Paul man learned his punishment on Wednesday after pleading guilty to first-degree arson in August.

Timothy Satin Thigpen, 40, was sentenced in Ramsey County court to nearly seven years (83 months) in prison. He’s already been imprisoned since April 2022 for a variety of other cases, including gun possession, drug possession, domestic abuse and a predatory offender violation.

He’ll serve his sentence from Wednesday at the same time as the other sentences and, given credit for time already served, he still projects to be released in late 2026.

Thigpen was charged with two counts of first-degree arson in February 2022, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree arson in August in exchange for the dismissal of the other count.

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A criminal complaint states that St. Paul police officers were called to an apartment building on the 1500 block of Marion Street on Feb. 23, 2022, on a report that Thigpen violated a protection order against a woman.

Thigpen left before police arrived and reportedly took the woman’s phone with him, the complaint states.

Later, officers responded to the same address on a report that Thigpen had returned. Authorities learned that Thigpen had locked himself inside a bedroom in the apartment and said he wanted police to kill him and that he was armed with a gun and a knife, according to the complaint.

The complaint adds that Thigpen then sent a photo of himself with a knife to his throat and officers were ultimately unable to negotiate with him to leave the room.

Thigpen then started the room on fire and said he was going to “smoke himself out,” the complaint states. The residents of the building evacuated and buses were brought in to provide warmth.

Thigpen was arrested after he came out of the room holding a knife to his throat, which he surrendered. The complaint adds that officers tried to put the fire out but it was burning out of control.

RELATED: 1 arrested for arson following overnight St. Paul apartment fire

A cat that belonged to the woman Thigpen wasn’t supposed to have contact with died in the fire, officials say.

After his arrest, Thigpen told law enforcement he was invited to the apartment to see his son but he got into an argument with the woman and left. He added that when he found out that she had called the police, he wanted to die and that he had to turn himself to prison in April for a long sentence and he knew this was one of the last times he could see his son.

The property manager for the apartment building told law enforcement that several units were damaged and a portion of the building had to be temporarily condemned, according to the complaint.