St. Tammany News

Slidell police say they have solved a two-year-old arson case with the arrest of three Slidell men.

Slidell police arrested two men April 29 and another one May 1 in connection with a fire that leveled one of the buildings at the Stone Creek apartment complex on Joseph Street in 2007.

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Andrew D. Wetzel, 20, 1407 Admiral Nelson Drive, Slidell, was arrested May 1, and Brandon L. Segraves, 21, 153 Venus St., Slidell was arrested April 29. Each was charged with aggravated arson. The third suspect, also arrested April 29, was 16 years old at the time of the arson fire, and Capt. Kevin Foltz, Slidell police spokesman, said because he was a minor at the time of the incident, police are not releasing his name and are treating him like a juvenile. The 18-year-old is also facing a charge of aggravated arson.

The two-story Stone Creek complex just off Old Spanish Trail was nearing completion when the blaze occurred just after 3 a.m. on May 13, 2007. Windows and a roof had reportedly just been installed in the approximately 17,000-square-foot building, and investigators said a second building, at about the same stage of completion, was also targeted.

That fire, however, burned itself out before causing much damage.

According to police and St. Tammany Fire District 1 personnel, the heat from the blaze was so intense that between 10 and 15 homes in the vicinity were affected.

“There were a lot of houses where the vinyl siding had blistered,” said FD1 Chief of Fire Prevention Neil Ricca. “There were several cars with a few parts that melted, too.”

Ricca said the developer of the complex, Omni Pinnacle, suffered an estimated $1 million in property damage, a figure that does not include lost rental revenue during the time it took to rebuild the complex. An estimated $50,000 in additional damage was incurred by the nearby homes.

Wetzel is no stranger to arson charges. He was arrested April 20 after a weekend crime spree that allegedly included two arsons, several burglaries and even trespassing on a military base. Wetzel is suspected of setting fire to the office of a local attorney to cover up a burglary and also burning a school bus. He faces charges of arson, burglary, trespassing on a military base, impersonating a firefighter and several charges of bank fraud, identity theft and theft.

The trail went cold in July 2007 on the Stone Creek fire, but new information received earlier in April led detectives to Seagraves and the unnamed suspect. The case is still under investigation to determine if the suspects can be linked to any other incidents.

Foltz said that right now, the three suspects are being uncooperative and not talking.

“They have not given us any motive for the fire, but we have supporting evidence that places them on the scene,” Foltz said.