Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus, Ill.
(TNS)
Mar. 5—Rock Island Police have arrested one person and are looking for two more in connection with the fire that destroyed the Rock Island Livestock Auction Barn last month.
Matthew E. Wooddell, 21, was taken into custody early Tuesday, according a press release from Rock Island police. A detention hearing for Wooddell is set for Wednesday and a preliminary hearing is set for March 19, according to Rock Island County Court records.
Arrest warrants have been issued for William Thomas Kosgard IV, 22, and Kadon Joseph Svec, 18. The warrants are for charges of arson, felony criminal damage to property and animal torture, the press release said.
Rock Island firefighters, backed up by firefighters from multiple area departments, were sent to the auction barn, 534 34th Ave., for a large fire that resulted in the complete destruction of the facility and the death of one of the cattle on the property.
It was determined that the blaze had been set, and the investigation by Rock Island Police and the Rock Island Fire Marshal identified the three men.
According to Rock Island County Circuit Court documents filed in Wooddell's case, the fire caused in excess of $100,000 in damage, according to estimates.
Video surveillance from nearby buildings captured three males at the property about 10 minutes before the fire broke out, the court documents said. The video showed the three males walking near hay bales around the property and huddling around them.
According to the court documents, the three males were seen getting onto a MetroLINK bus that was headed toward East Moline.
Police from East Moline and Milan were able to identify the three men.
Rock Island Police Detective Jonathan Shappard interviewed Wooddell, who admitted to setting the fire, according to the court documents.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Kosgard or Svec is asked to contact the Rock Island Police Department at 309-732-COPS(2677) or submit a tip through Crime Stoppers of the Quad Cities at 309-762-9500 or P3tips.com.
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