Deputies who reached a burning house in Crow River Township before dawn on Nov. 7 found a sign at the end of the driveway that read “armed and dangerous,” according to the complaint. A 38-year-old Belgrade man who was the home’s only occupant is charged with arson.

Stearns County sheriff’s deputies were sent to the structure fire at about 4:41 a.m. They found the house burned to the ground but still on fire, with debris and other structures at the end of the driveway along with the sign. Deputies eventually found Wayne Kyle Wold at a nearby property.

Witnesses told investigators that Wold had been growing more erratic in the days before the fire. They said he had thrown property into his yard, broken his cell phone and seemed agitated and angry. Witnesses also said he had threatened family members, though he never made a specific threat to burn down his house, the complaint says.

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The Fire Marshal’s preliminary investigation found several propane and butane tanks inside the burned home, in bedrooms. Witnesses said the tanks had not been there the day before. They said the same of larger propane cylinders placed around the outside of the home. Investigators also found cleaning concentrate containers near the home filled with what looked and smelled like gasoline. Burn patterns show an accelerant may have been used, according to the complaint, which says the fire and arson investigation was still ongoing.

Wold was arrested and deputies collected his clothing to test for accelerants or chemicals. A black substance consistent with soot was on his hands when he was arrested, the complaint says. He is charged in Stearns County District Court in a complaint filed Nov. 9 with first-degree arson of a dwelling, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison or a $20,000 fine or both.

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Jurisdictional Context

Stearns County encompasses Saint Cloud and is the largest county in central Minnesota. The Stearns County Attorney’s Office handles felony prosecutions through the Seventh Judicial District at the Stearns County Courthouse in Saint Cloud.