Three Cheyenne teens accused of burning down a vacant home in northeast Cheyenne were charged with arson Monday.
Warrants were issued for Kyle Brown, Ryder Peterson and Brayden Weil, who are all 18. They all face third-degree arson charges, a felony, stemming from a fire that claimed a brick house in the 5900 block of Ridge Road in the early morning hours of May 28.
The Cheyenne Fire Department responded to the structure fire at about 1:30 a.m. to find flames in different areas of the home and the roof, an arrest affidavit states.
A fire investigator determined the house was a total loss with severe damage to multiple areas of the residence and the roof. On Tuesday, a bulldozer and other heavy equipment worked to fill in the former basement of the house, which has already been torn down.
The investigator found four separate areas of the house where fires were started.
“The fires did not connect to one another which is evidence the fires were started,” the affidavit states.
The property owner told investigators that the house did not have power going to it and the gas had been shut off before it had been abandoned. The Laramie County Assessor’s Office valued it at $146,560, the affidavit states.
A video surveillance camera at the property revealed four people entered the home about 12:51 a.m. wearing dark shirts. At 1:01 a.m. they left, and the video showed a red glow in the downstairs and upstairs windows, which appeared to be multiple fires, the affidavit states.
Snuck Out To Do Arson
A Cheyenne Police Department East High School resource officer asked students for any information.
The affidavit stated a student who wanted to be anonymous reported that Peterson had told the student he snuck out of his house and set the other house on fire with his friends.
“(The officer) had a prior issue with Ryder when Ryder brought gunpowder to school,” the affidavit said.
The student told the resource officer that Peterson named two others who were with him when the fires were set — Weil and a teen who has not yet been charged in the case.
During an interview with a Cheyenne police detective, Peterson admitted telling the student about the fire, but said he lied and was not involved.
Both Weil and the uncharged teen both admitted being on the scene and provided the names of Peterson and Brown, the affidavit states.
Conflicting Statements
The uncharged teen, who turns 19 this year, said he and the others were walking around and entered the abandoned property.
He said he and Weil stayed upstairs while Peterson and Brown went to the basement. Peterson and Brown then ran up the basement steps shouting, “There is a fire started,” the affidavit states.
Weil also told the investigator that all the teens were in the house when the fire started and that Peterson and Brown were downstairs.
Brown then ran up the stairs stating: “Dude, me and Ryder started a fire in the basement, we gotta get out of here,” the affidavit states.
Weil told the investigator he and the yet uncharged teen never went downstairs, and no fires were started on the main level. He said only Peterson and/or Brown started the fires, the affidavit states.
Brown’s statement to the investigator was that he stayed upstairs while the other three went downstairs and that all were inside the residence when the fire started. Brown told police at one point, Weil went into the garage, and he saw him start a fire next to a shelf.
Brown told the investigator that he did not start any fires and that the only fire started was the one by Weil, the affidavit states.
All four of the teens were in the residence during the 10-minute time frame the four separate fires were started, the affidavit states.
Calls to the Cheyenne Police Department about potential charges for the fourth teen were not immediately returned.
The third-degree arson charge against the three teens carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
