Charges filed against man accused of starting Cape office complex fire

Second-degree arson charges await a man who remained in the hospital Friday after allegedly setting fire last week to an office complex where he worked.

Mark K. Carleton, 26, of Thebes, Ill., was still hospitalized as of Friday afternoon due to injuries from smoke inhalation after he allegedly used paper and a lighter to start a fire late Monday night that caused more than $500,000 worth of damage inside the complex.

Seven businesses occupied the complex at 1707 N. Mount Auburn Road. According to the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, heavy fire damage occurred in three of the building's offices, as well as smoke damage throughout the building. The fire also compromised the integrity of the structure and caused the roof to sag over the fire's area of origin.

Cape Girardeau police spokesman Darin Hickey said the hospital will notify police before Carleton's release. On Tuesday, Judge Gary Kamp set Carleton's bond at $100,000 and ordered him not to leave the state.

Carleton worked for RGIS Inventory Services, which occupied two of the building's offices. He was on the scene when fire crews arrived and offered to take them in the building to show them where the fire was, said Cape Girardeau fire marshal Brian Schaffer.

According to a probable-cause statement, Carleton was carrying a respirator mask and told an emergency service responder and a police officer at the scene that he set the fire because he was upset with a recent pay cut.

The state fire marshal came to the scene Tuesday and later interviewed Carleton, who admitted to starting the fire, Schaffer said. Carleton also said he had a key to the building and had been sleeping there.

Hickey said no new information as to why Carleton was staying in the building has become available.

"It is still a pending investigation, and we are still trying to determine the behind-the-scenes story of it," he said.

Calls made to the building's owner, Storey Management Group, went unanswered Friday.

Holly Overstreet, the building's manager, said last week that the building had just recently been refurbished.

Tim Morgan, the city's inspection services director, said tenants began moving out Tuesday. City inspectors have surveyed the damage and may list the building as condemned sometime early this week, Morgan said.

The owners would then need to make repairs to bring the structure back up to safe condition or have it demolished.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

1707 N. Mount Auburn Road, Cape Girardeau, MO