SWAT Team Called Near Sebeka for Arrest of Man Suspected of Arson

Jason Goble (Credit: Wadena County Sheriff’s Office)

A SWAT team was called into action near Sebeka on Saturday after shots were fired while officers tried to arrest a man suspected of intentionally setting a building on fire that day.

The structure fire, located southeast of Sebeka in North German Township, was reported around 3:30 in the afternoon. The structure was a complete loss, and no one was injured. Law enforcement learned the fire may have been set by a man who had fled the scene.

After searching for the man for about an hour, the suspect was located at the Sebeka West Cemetery in Red Eye Township. But after he grabbed a gun from his vehicle and shot three rounds into the wooded area near the cemetery, a shelter-in-place notification was sent out to surrounding residences, and the Wadena/Hubbard SWAT Team was activated.

An armored vehicle was also dispatched from Otter Tail County, and that was used to approach the suspect, who eventually surrendered without further incident.

The suspect, 47-year-old Jason Goble of Lakeville, MN is being held in the Wadena County Jail pending possible charges of second-degree assault, second-degree arson, and reckless discharge of a firearm.