A masked figure carrying newspapers was caught on surveillance video approaching a storage barn in Oronoco just minutes before it erupted in flames, prosecutors say.

The fire broke out at about 12:39 a.m. on September 30, 2023, at Minnesota Avenue and Center Street West. A neighbor returning home noticed the smell of barbecue, saw the shed door on fire and tried to intervene, but the flames quickly spread. He called 911 and alerted the building owner, who was asleep inside his nearby home.

Sean Lee Culver, 45, of Oronoco, faces a charge of second-degree arson for setting fire to the storage barn, according to a complaint filed August 3 in Olmsted County District Court.