Police arrest suspect in late night Cape Girardeau fire

Cape Girardeau police have arrested a suspect in the Monday night fire that destroyed an abandoned home.

Around 10:30 p.m. Monday, Cape Girardeau firefighters responded to a report of a house fire at 827 N. Main St. When crews arrived, 75 percent of the structure had burned, said Capt. Mark Starnes of the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Firefighters entered from a side street in an effort to contain the blaze.

Tuesday, Cape Girardeau police said Joseph Hogeland, 30, of Cape Girardeau had been arrested and charged with second-degree arson. He was in the Cape Girardeau County Jail on a $35,000 bond.

According to the probable-cause statement, a witness called police after seeing a man set the vacant house on fire. The witness said the back of the house was glowing when Hogeland left it. Hogeland started running south when the witness yelled at him, the statement said.

Starnes said that since the city owned the one-and-a-half story home and the structure was used for fire department training exercises, crews allowed the home to burn. The structure had been slated to be demolished.

No injuries were reported.