Minneapolis man charged for starting fires in Uptown alleyway

A Minneapolis man has been charged in relation to starting fires in an alleyway in the Uptown area of Minneapolis recently.

According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, Tyler Ferguson, 22, has been charged with second-degree arson for starting fires in an alley behind Stella’s Fish Café in the early morning hours of July 6. Ferguson also faces a first-degree damage to property charge as well.

He is scheduled to make his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon.

According to the criminal complaint, the Minneapolis Fire Department, along with the Minneapolis Police Department, responded to Stella’s on a report of fires in an alleyway behind the restaurant. When police arrived, they spoke with the owner of the restaurant, who provided them with security footage of the alley behind Stella’s where the fires were started.

Around 3 a.m., the footage captured two men in the alley, with Ferguson, identified wearing blue shorts, a bullet vest and having "distinct black and blue-tipped hair," the complaint says.

Ferguson’s companion is seen with a brown paper bag, which he lights up and placed atop of cardboard lying on dumpsters in the alley behind Stella’s. The footage then shows Ferguson place additional cardboard on top of the burning bag and watches as it catches on fire, the complaint states. He then is seen taking the burning paper bag, positions it at the back of a dumpster, which ignites other items.

Additional footage from the owner showed Ferguson in the same alley moving dumpsters around on July 3. A Stella’s employee told police of a conversation previously had with Ferguson, who told the employee that he wanted to burn the restaurant down, the complaint says.

On Friday, police located and arrested the man.

According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the estimated cost of damages the restaurant sustained are more than $80,000 at this time.