Man pleads guilty to starting Cape Girardeau office complex fire

The man charged with torching a Cape Girardeau office complex pleaded guilty to arson Monday.

Mark K. Carleton, 26, destroyed the office complex at 1707 N. Mount Auburn Road on Nov. 21 when he set fire to paper and laid it on the floor of the complex, Carleton told Cape Girardeau Circuit Court Judge Benjamin Lewis on Monday.

Carleton took an open plea, which means assistant prosecuting attorney Julie Koester can recommend that a judge sentence him to the maximum seven years in prison. A message left at Koester's office was not immediately returned Monday afternoon. Carleton's attorney, Mary Patricia Tucka, declined to comment.

Carleton worked for RGIS Inventory Services, which occupied two of the building's offices. He was on the scene when fire crews arrived and offered to take them in the building to show them where the fire was, according to the probable-cause statement.

According to the statement, Carleton was carrying a respirator mask and told an emergency service responder and a police officer at the scene that he set the fire because he was upset with a recent pay cut.

He was hospitalized with smoke inhalation and was released into the custody of the Cape Girardeau Police Department a few days after the fire.

At his first court appearance, Carleton was found to be indigent and in need of a public defender, according to court documents.

This is not the first time Carleton has run into trouble with Cape Girardeau authorities. In March 2005, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor stealing and spent 30 days behind bars. In August 2005, he spent 30 days in jail for failing to appear in court, and in 2007, he received three years in prison for forgery, according to online court records.

Before his Cape Girardeau arrests, Carleton pleaded guilty to burglary in Alexander County, Ill., and was sentenced to seven months in 2003. In 2006, he pleaded guilty in Alexander County to burglary, theft and property damage charges.

The office complex was condemned Nov. 22, and its seven tenants were forced to relocate.

The owner of the complex, Storey Management, will let the city know if it plans to demolish or rebuild the complex at a Jan. 30 hearing, Cape Girardeau city inspecting services director Tim Morgan said.

Building manager Hollie Overstreet said the company has received demolition bids and is still receiving bids for reconstruction. The company is unsure whether it will rebuild the complex, Overstreet said.

Carleton will be sentenced Feb. 14.

psullivan@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

1707 N. Mount Auburn Road, Cape Girardeau, MO