A 59-year-old Sturgeon Bay woman faces a felony charge of arson following a barn fire in the city.
Donna Jo Franklin was arrested June 15, according to a news release and Facebook post by the Sturgeon Bay Police Department. She was charged by the Door County District Attorney’s office with arson of a building without the owner’s consent, a Class C felony, and the charge carries an elderly victim modifier.
The charge stems from a barn fire in the 1400 block of North Eighth Avenue that was reported to the Sturgeon Bay police and fire departments at about 8:50 p.m. June 10. Responders found the barn engulfed in flames, but no animals were in the structure and no one was on the property, the news release said.
After the fire was extinguished, members of the fire department worked with investigators from the police department and deputies from the Office of the State Fire Marshal to find a cause and subsequently determined it was suspicious. Further investigation established a person of interest in the case, leading to Franklin’s arrest.
Franklin made an initial appearance in Door County Circuit Court on June 16 by video from the county jail. A cash bond was set at $25,000 and the initial appearance was adjourned to 10 a.m. June 22.
The police department is not releasing more information on the case.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Sturgeon Bay woman charged with arson in June 10 barn fire
Reporting by Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
