Cape man charged for setting fire to downtown business

The fire that damaged Travelers Gazebo Gardens and Pet Center last week was set intentionally, police said.

The Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Wednesday charged Raymond S. Enderle, 49, of Cape Girardeau with second-degree arson, a felony.

Enderle, a resident of Maple Crest Manor assisted-living facility, was captured on Maple Crest Manor surveillance cameras leaving his residence shortly before 7 p.m. June 20, according to a probable-cause statement filed in the case by Cape Girardeau police detective Jeffrey Bonham.

The same cameras captured Enderle returning, wearing the same clothes, just after 3 a.m. the next morning, Bonham wrote.

Police responded to reports of a large fire around 11:10 p.m. June 20 at Travelers Gazebo Gardens and Pet Center, 104 N. Sprigg St., where fire personnel advised them there were several points of origin in the blaze, according to the statement.

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responds to a structure fire at Travelers Gazebo Gardens and Pet center early the morning of June 21 in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

The business owner, Michael Obermiller, told police his business had been mostly closed for more than a year, but he still operated the greenhouses for a small group of customers, Bonham wrote.

Two of the greenhouses were destroyed in the fire, and a third was damaged, Cape Girardeau fire chief Rick Ennis told the Southeast Missourian at the scene.

Several surveillance cameras near the business captured a suspect walking near the greenhouses, wearing the same clothes Enderle wore that night, Bonham wrote.

Video footage also showed Enderle setting fire to the front of the business before walking away north on Sprigg Street, according to the statement.

Bonham’s statement did not include any suspected motive, and public-information officer Sgt. Rick Schmidt said police do not know why the fire was set.

“I wish I knew why people who commit crimes do what they do,” Schmidt said by phone Thursday. “I have no idea, and nine times out of 10, we never know why they do what they do.”

He declined to say whether Enderle is being considered as a suspect in any other fires.

“We will let the evidence guide us to any further additional charges, but as of right now, there are no additional charges [filed against Enderle],” Schmidt said.

He said an exact cost of the fire has not been determined and may not be until restorations begin.

No one was injured in the fire, but some power lines were downed as a result and had to be cleared after the fire was extinguished.

Before its owners retired in 2016, Travelers Gazebo Gardens and Pet Center was open for 53 years.

Enderle’s bond was set at $35,000.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627

Pertinent address:

104 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.