Domestic Disputes Lead to Two St. Paul MN Fires

Feb. 24—A man and a woman are accused of starting apartments ablaze during domestic disputes in separate cases in St. Paul on Thursday.

Both happened in the North End and residents were evacuated. The American Red Cross was helping people from 42 units, who couldn't return home Thursday night, find lodging after the second fire.

Officers were called about 12:30 p.m. to the 100 block of West Larpenteur Avenue, and saw smoke and flames coming from a third-floor apartment. They started evacuating the building, and St. Paul firefighters responded to put out the fire.

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A man reported that he asked his wife to leave the apartment due to her abusive behavior, after which she yelled at him, shoved him over a couch and pushed him to the ground, said Steve Linders, a police spokesman. He said she then pushed him out the door, he called police and he heard the fire alarms going off.

Police arrested a 28-year-old woman on suspicion of arson for allegedly setting fire to their apartment.

The building has been condemned, but inspectors will continue to reassess when units are safe for people to return, according to the St. Paul Department of Safety and Inspections.

MAN CHARGED WITH ARSON

In the other incident, officers responded to a report of a violation of an order for protection in the 1500 block of Marion Street at 11:50 p.m. Wednesday, spoke with a woman and left after finding out the suspect, Timothy Satin Thigpen, wasn't there, according to a criminal complaint. An hour later, police were informed Thigpen was back at the apartment and they returned.

Thigpen, 39, locked himself in a bedroom, and said he was armed and he wanted police to kill him, according to the complaint. Officers tried to negotiate with him.

Thigpen started the room on fire and officers cleared residents out of the building, the complaint said.

Thigpen eventually came out of the room, holding a knife to his throat. He surrendered the weapon and police arrested him.

Fire crews contained the blaze to the bedroom, though the building's caretaker reported that several units were damaged and a portion of the building was temporarily condemned.

A cat that died in the fire belonged to the woman who Thigpen wasn't supposed to have contact with.

Thigpen told police he was invited to the apartment to see his son, and left when he had an argument with the woman. He said he knew it would be one of the last times he could visit his son because he said he was going to turn himself in to prison in April to serve a long sentence, according to the complaint.

Thigpen is charged with two counts of first-degree arson. An attorney wasn't listed for him in the court record as of Thursday.

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