A Saint Paul man used a lighter to set a cardboard display box of pajama sets on fire at a West Saint Paul Walmart on Sept. 28, according to the complaint.

John Ellie Bayson Mindanao, 25, is charged in Dakota County District Court with second-degree arson for allegedly setting the fire. The complaint was filed Nov. 3.

The complaint says Walmart loss prevention employees approached the police desk inside the store on Robert Street to report that a fire had been set in the clothing section. Officers arrived and saw a large cloud of smoke and haze in the area. Store employees had already extinguished the fire using fire extinguishers.

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According to the complaint, officers reviewed surveillance footage and saw a male select a pack of lighters from the front of the store, open it and walk to the clothing area. The footage shows the man hunching down behind the cardboard display box, using the lighter to set it on fire, then leaving the area and exiting the store as smoke began to rise from the display.

Officers found the man outside the store and placed him in handcuffs. He was identified as John Ellie Bayson Mindanao. Officers brought him to the loss prevention area inside the store, where he was removed from handcuffs. The complaint says Mindanao admitted to starting the fire and told officers the lighter he used would be found under the display box.

Officers recovered the lighter from under the display box, as Mindanao had described. The complaint states that many customers and store employees were inside the store at the time the fire was set, but no injuries were reported.

The complaint says Walmart loss prevention staff confirmed the total loss to the store from the fire was $2,072.

Related MN CRIME Coverage

3 Vehicles Damaged, $8,173 Paid Out in Dakota County Arson Case • Man Charged with Setting Brush Fires in South Saint Paul Park • High-Speed Chase and Bite, Eden Prairie Woman Charged

Jurisdictional Context

Dakota County, immediately south of Saint Paul, is Minnesota’s third-largest county by population. The Dakota County Attorney’s Office prosecutes felonies through the First Judicial District; cases are heard at the Dakota County Judicial Center in Hastings.