Two Pine County men were charged today with 57 felony counts in connection with the 2008 Big Pine Lake arson fires -- which caused nearly $1.5 million in damages -- and numerous burglaries.
Brandon Allan Lind, 25, of Sandstone was charged in Pine County District Court with 36 counts of arson, burglary, possession of explosives by a prohibited person and possession of a controlled substance.
Christian Amadeus Eichert, 22, of Pine City is charged with 21 counts of arson and burglary.
The two are in custody in the Pine County Jail.
Lind and Eichert are charged with setting on fire eight cabins and two other building at Big Pine Lake near Finlayson on April 13, 2008. The fires caused an estimated $1.49 million in damages, court documents state.
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According to court documents, a witness said, "Eichert is a fire setter and does it for a 'rush' and believes he will never get caught."
The witness also said that early on April 13, 2008, the two told her "you've got to come check out what we did." The three then drove to the Pine Lake fires scene.
The witness told authorities that Lind and Eichert bragged about burglaries they committed and showed her property they had stolen.
In July, officers searched the property where Lind was living and recovered stolen property, including firearms stolen in Pine, Kanabec and Aitkin county burglaries. They also found explosives Lind had manufactured, the complaint said, and 21 marijuana plants growing on the property.
Officials from the Pine, Kanabec and Aitkin County Sheriff's offices will discuss the charges at a Pine City news conference later today.
