Sep. 22—A Kokomo woman who pleaded guilty for her role in setting fire to an area business in January was recently sentenced to 6 years in the Indiana Department of Correction.
Per court documents, Michelle "Shelly" Ellis will spend a little less than a year of that sentence in prison, while the rest will be suspended to supervised probation.
Ellis will also spend three months on in-home detention, court officials note.
On Jan. 24, Ellis was arrested on a Level 4 felony charge of arson and a Level 5 felony charge of burglary for her connection to a Dec. 28, 2022, fire at Averhealth, 303 N. Main St.
During the investigation, authorities reportedly watched a surveillance video that showed a white sedan, possibly a Toyota, entering the rear parking area of the business, according to a probable cause affidavit filed at the time.
The video then showed movement inside the business and an unidentified woman — later determined by police to be Ellis — exiting the building through a rear window and slowly driving around to the front of the building.
In the video, the woman then drove into a parking lot across the street from Averhealth before eventually exiting and parking near the intersection of Mulberry and Main streets, court documents noted.
The woman then exited the vehicle and walked to the front of Averhealth, investigators stated, before walking back to the sedan.
At some point afterward, the building caught fire. It was contained and extinguished prior to the arrival of the Kokomo Fire Department, according to investigators.
On Jan. 7, police received an anonymous email tip that Ellis had burglarized Averhealth and started the fire.
It was also learned that at the time of the incident, Ellis was an employee of Averhealth.
She was also the owner of a white Toyota Corolla like the one that appeared at the scene the night of the fire, according to court documents.
On Jan. 9, Ellis met with investigators for an interview, court records indicate. Reportedly, she told investigators she was "shocked" to hear the news that someone had burglarized Averhealth.
As the interview went on, Ellis confessed, according to court records.
"Ms. Ellis stated the night she burglarized Averhealth, she was at home alone and stated she was short on money," the probable cause affidavit reported. "... I asked her if breaking into Averhealth was something she had planned to do or even thought about. She said a couple of months ago, she admitted that she thought to herself how easy it would be to break in."
Ellis also reportedly told investigators she started the fire with a Bic lighter and a box of paper, cone-shaped water cups and she "staged" the back window to look like someone else had broken into the building, according to court records.