Arson suspect's bond: $500K
WALLACE - Kellogg resident Douglas Mark Burmeister, 21, appeared before Judge Daniel McGee Thursday in magistrate court following his morning arrest, and remains in jail with bond set at $500,000.
He allegedly set the Shoshone News-Press office fire in the early morning hours on Thursday by breaking into the southwest corner office window and starting the fire inside that office.
Burmeister faced five charges in McGee's courtroom, including felony arson in the first degree, felony burglary, misdemeanor driving under the influence, misdemeanor resisting an officer and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
A public defender will be appointed to Burmeister, who is due to return to court within the next two to three weeks.
Kellogg Police Department officers arrested Burmeister at 6:40 a.m. Thursday while the fire at the News-Press office continued to smolder and glow through the southwest corner windows.
He was originally charged with driving under the influence as he admitted to drinking an alcoholic beverage and smoking marijuana before testing with a blood alcohol level of 0.152, according to a Kellogg Police Department incident report.
"When he came in he was highly intoxicated, but he's sober now," said Captain Rick Smith, jail commander at the Shoshone County Sheriff's Office.
An incident report filed by the Kellogg Police Department indicates that through a 15 minute period during which he was being observed and breathalyzed, Burmeister stated that "he was intoxicated and that he had smoked weed, and that he would smoke weed until the day he dies."
Since in jail, Smith added that Burmeister has said little. "He's been cooperative now that we've got him booked in and such."
Burmeister was discovered by authorities in the yard of an apartment complex close to the fire with blood on his hands, face and clothing. The report states that the gas meter to the News-Press building had been tampered with, and there was broken glass containing blood at the site.
According to the incident report, a witness told authorities that Burmeister made a statement while they were giving him a ride to his apartment indicating he hated Kellogg and that he would be back to burn down all of Kellogg. When asked what he had done, Burmeister reportedly told the witness to look down Main Street, where the witness saw the News-Press building on fire.
A red plastic coffee container containing cigarette butts was spilled out in the intersection in front of the News-Press office, and the police report indicates a firework that looked to have been set off was sitting on the sidewalk immediately across the street from the office. However, an exact determination of what started the fire was not listed.