A January Aurora County fire may be linked to an incident involving stolen tractors in Letcher on the same night.
A photo of a house on fire sent in a text message led to charges being filed against two men, who are also suspected of stealing tractors in Letcher on the night of Jan. 16.
Brandon Mehlbrech, 27, of Mitchell and Allen Antaya, 20, of Plankinton have been charged with first-degree arson. They are accused of intentionally burning an unoccupied house owned by Ronnie and Deanna Wieczorek, four miles west of Mt. Vernon.
On Feb. 1, Jeremy Johnson reported to Mitchell police a text message picture of a burning house he had received from Mehlbrech with a message that said, “what we do lol.”
Antaya’s phone, which was seized during a police interview, held a video of haybales burning. It was later found out the Wieczorek house had haybales next to it.
Johnson also reported viewing a video on Antaya’s phone of Antaya riding on a tractor.
Levi Grosz reported during a Feb. 11 police interview that Mehlbrech and Antaya came over to his house that night and told him they stole tractors, got them stuck in a slough and set a house on fire.
Mehlbrech denied involvement in the fire, but told police he and Antaya had driven around Letcher the same night as the fire, gotten their vehicle stuck and used a tractor owned by the Town of Letcher to pull it out. He said they put the tractor back where they found it.
Antaya has denied involvement in the fire and using the tractor.
Mehlbrech is being held in the Davison County jail. An arrest warrant has been issued for Antaya.
-
Weather
WoonsocketMarch 5, 2021, 4:07 am29°Freal feel: 27°Fhumidity: 96%wind speed: 4 mph SSEwind gusts: 9 mphUpcoming Events
March 2021 SSunday MMonday TTuesday WWednesday TThursday FFriday SSaturday 28February 28, 2021 1March 1, 2021 2March 2, 2021 3March 3, 2021 4March 4, 2021 5March 5, 2021 6March 6, 2021 7March 7, 2021 8March 8, 2021 9March 9, 2021 10March 10, 2021 11March 11, 2021 12March 12, 2021 13March 13, 2021 14March 14, 2021 15March 15, 2021 16March 16, 2021 17March 17, 2021 18March 18, 2021 19March 19, 2021 20March 20, 2021 21March 21, 2021 22March 22, 2021 23March 23, 2021 24March 24, 2021 25March 25, 2021 26March 26, 2021 27March 27, 2021 28March 28, 2021 29March 29, 2021 30March 30, 2021 31March 31, 2021 1April 1, 2021 2April 2, 2021 3April 3, 2021 -
Recent Posts
Contact Us
Archives
Tweet