An 18-year-old Duluth man who pleaded guilty earlier this year to felony arson in the East Hillside has been arrested again -- accused of setting additional fires and reporting a false fire in Duluth.
Cody Lee Walker-Nelson was arrested without incident just before 8 a.m. Saturday by Owatonna, Minn., police on a warrant filed in St. Louis County District Court.
Walker-Nelson was wanted on charges of felony arson in the third degree, arson in the fifth degree and making a false emergency call.
In January, Walker-Nelson was arrested in Duluth and charged in connection with a string of fires, mostly garages, in Duluth's East Hillside neighborhood. He was 17 at the time.
Duluth police arson investigator Todd Kuusisto said Walker-Nelson was convicted in February in juvenile court and served four months of a six-month sentence but was released June 16. He was on probation at the time of the fires earlier this month.
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Police say arson fires have increased in Duluth since Walker-Nelson's release and that he is suspected in several other fires as well.
"He hasn't told us why he's doing this. He admitted going into one garage on a whim and lighting the fire ... but he hasn't admitted to any of the other ones," Kuusisto said. "We're calling him a serial arsonist because he just enjoys setting fires and he keeps doing it. ... So far, no one has been hurt. But he [has] damaged a lot of property and we're glad we have him back" in custody.
The most recent charges stem from two fires Aug. 10 in Duluth allegedly started by Walker-Nelson, and an Aug. 16 call to 911, in which police said Walker-Nelson reported a fire that did not exist.
The Aug. 10 fire, reported about 3 a.m., was started in a garbage can containing paper and cans in the alley behind 1021 E. Second St., Kuusisto said. Another fire was reported 40 minutes later in the back of a pickup truck about a block away.
The Aug. 16 false fire was reported within view of Walker-Nelson's residence and investigators say they recognized his voice on the 911 tape, which led to the warrant for his arrest.
Walker-Nelson was arrested Jan. 8 and charged with first-degree arson and first-degree burglary -- both felonies -- in connection with a fire at 1720 E. Fifth Street early that day. The fire caused an estimated $15,000 in damages to the building and $10,000 to its contents. A woman and her daughter were sleeping in the attached house when police officers woke them and escorted them from the building about 1:20 a.m.
Fire investigators determined the fire was intentionally set using wood furniture, books and magazines that had been stored in the garage.
A police dog led officers from the fire scene to Walker-Nelson's house. Officers found wet boots that matched the tread patterns leading from the fire scene and clothes that smelled of smoke that matched a witness' description of what a person seen running from the area was wearing.
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He was charged in July 2007 with assault with a dangerous weapon and was found guilty and adjudicated delinquent.
Walker-Nelson was being transported to the St. Louis County Jail on Tuesday.
