Pequot Lakes Woman Charged For Arson

Photo Courtesy: Brainerd Dispatch

A Pequot Lakes woman is being charged for allegedly setting her house on fire.

Nicole Joanna O’Day of Pequot Lakes, 44, is facing 2 felony charges for 1st degree arson.

According to court documents, O’Day reported her house was on fire on September 1st, 2015. Fire Marshal Mark Germain was called out to the residence to look at the fire because it looked suspicious. Germain found 4 ignition points inside the house and declared it arson.

O’Day went through the home with an insurance adjuster later that day, where she was told the damage was not enough to be a total loss and that she could still rebuild her home, according to court documents. The home was checked for hot spots, which revealed none.

The fire department was called again to the home on September 2nd, 2015, when O’Day was again, the only one at the residence. According to court documents, O’Day claimed she was with Rodney Litzau, but when law enforcement checked, Litzau claimed he was dropped off an hour earlier before the fire.

O’Day will make her first appearance in court on October 31st, at 8:30 A-M in the Crow Wing County District Court.