Roseville, MN (MinnesotaNow) – A Minnesota man who was charged with attempted murder after he was accused of trapping his parents in the basement of their home before setting it on fire is not expected to serve any time in prison.
Twenty-nine-year-old Andrew Michael Alvarez of Roseville was arrested in early June after police and firefighters responded to his family’s home following a 911 call from his father. Court records indicate his father and mother were in the basement of the house when they heard “a whoosh” and discovered a fire at the top of the stairs, blocking their escape.
His Parents Were Trapped in the Basement of the Burning Home
According to the criminal complaint, Roseville police were the first to arrive and spotted smoke coming from the roof and a fire burning in the kitchen. An officer entered the house and found a fire at the top of the basement steps, which he extinguished before clearing the way for firefighters to take over.
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Meanwhile, the court document says officers helped Alvarez’s parents escape through a basement egress window. They reported that their son might still be inside the home and stated that he was a heavy drug user who liked to hide in closets.
Police Describe Multiple Intentionally Set Fires
Roseville firefighters finished extinguishing the kitchen fire, which also damaged the stairs and walls in the basement stairwell. They also found fires burning in two bedrooms and ample evidence that the fires had been intentionally set. The complaint indicates the entire interior of the main level smelled of lighter fluid, a bedroom mattress had been set on fire, and one of the knobs on the gas stove in the kitchen had been turned to the “on” position.
After discovering that Alvarez was not inside the residence, police conducted a search and found him at a nearby convenience store. The complaint says Alvarez denied trying to kill his parents but did not deny setting the fires. When questioned about his drug use, he stated that the drugs he uses “help calm things down” and that investigators “wouldn’t understand.”
His Plea Deal Calls For a Jail Sentence and Probation
He was charged with two counts of second-degree attempted murder and one count of first-degree arson. A Petition to Enter Plea of Guilty filed in Ramsey County crime Court says Alvarez has pleaded guilty to the first-degree arson charge in exchange for the dismissal of the attempted murder charges.
The document also says the plea agreement calls for a one-year jail sentence, although he could be released to a treatment facility after serving 80 days. The agreement also includes a recommendation for a stayed 81-month prison term and five years of probation.
Alvarez is scheduled to be sentenced in February…