Sep. 30—EAU CLAIRE — A man burglarized and set fire to a business on Eau Claire's south side that was under a notice of eviction, police say.
Cuong V. Nguyen, 48, 3204 Summerfield Drive, was charged Wednesday in Eau Claire County Court to felony counts of arson of building, criminal damage to property and burglary, and misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct.
A $5,000 cash bail was set for Nguyen, which prohibits him from having contact with the owners of the building.
Nguyen returns to court Nov. 10.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police responded Aug. 21 to a business building at 3021 Mall Drive for a burglary and arson case. The building houses Happy Nails, Noodle Wrap and a lawn care business.
Building owners showed the officer a broken window on the east side of the building. It appeared a fire was started at the broken window and smoke was still observed inside the building.
The officer was told that the owner of Happy Nails was evicted from the building and was supposed to be out by Aug. 20. The owners of the building said they have had continuing issues with the Happy Nails business.
A car belonging to the owner of Happy Nails was parked by the building. It had been damaged by a rock.
The building owners said one Happy Nails employee, Nguyen, was particularly upset that the business was being evicted.
Police found blood on the broken window at Happy Nails. There was fire damage throughout the business. Firefighters said they believed an accelerant was likely used to start the fire.
Nguyen said he was staying at his relative's residence and not at Happy Nails at the time of the burglary and arson.
Surveillance video from the building's owners showed a man, with a shirt pulled up over the top of his head, break a window with a rock. He then dumps accelerant into the window. He reaches through the window to start the fire.
The subsequent explosion from the fire appears to engulf the suspect, who then runs from the window. He can be seen taking off his shirt and rubbing his hair. The video shows the same man breaking the car window before breaking the window on the building.
DNA evidence from the blood left on the broken window was linked to Nguyen.
Nguyen is being prosecuted as a repeat offender. He was convicted of a felony count of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle in November 2019 in Ramsey County, Minn.
If convicted of the felony charges, Nguyen could be sentenced to up to 34 years in prison.