A Moorhead man is accused of setting two fires inside an apartment during an argument, according to a criminal complaint.
Alexey Donald Schreiner, 34, faces two felony counts of first-degree arson of a dwelling. The complaint was filed Oct. 5 in Clay County District Court.
According to the complaint, officers were sent at about 6:57 a.m. Oct. 3 to a report of a fire at an apartment in Moorhead. The woman who called 911 said the man had set her apartment on fire during an argument, and firefighters were clearing smoke from it when officers arrived.
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She told police the argument began when she woke up at about 6:15 a.m. The man packed his belongings, smashed an ashtray with a metal pole and took her torch lighter, the complaint says.
From the bedroom, she saw him use the torch to set fire to a box of her clothes in the dining room. She put that fire out with water, then saw that he had also set the living room couch on fire. She put out both fires and called 911, and Schreiner left before police arrived, according to the complaint. The fires caused fire and smoke damage to the apartment.
Officers later found and detained Schreiner. In an interview while in custody, he admitted starting a fire in the apartment, the complaint says.
Each first-degree arson count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $20,000 fine or both, according to the complaint.
