Deputies: Mother lit dumpster fires with minor son, gets charged with arson for fence fire

BLACKFOOT — A 39-year-old woman has been charged with felony third-degree arson from a September incident after court documents allege she lit part of a fence on fire at a local business.

According to a report filed by a Bingham County Sheriff’s detective, Kara Richardson lit the fence on fire, and also admitted to starting a dumpster fire, and accompanying her minor son when he started dumpster fires over a period of several years.

The detective was made aware of the fence fire at Bowers Collision located off of South Broadway in Blackfoot on Sept. 17. According to court documents, the fire happened around 4:20 a.m. The victim said the fire resulted in $680 in damages to the fence and $1,000 in damages to a car parked behind the fence.

The victim also told the detective that he believed the fire could potentially be connected to dumpster fires that had happened in the area. The detective wrote in his report that he had been investigating several dumpster fires already.

The victim showed surveillance video footage from the Bowers Collision property, which showed a female, who was identified as Richardson, had walked across the street from the Camas Street Apartments and attempted to light a fire in three different areas with the last attempt starting Bowers Collision fence on fire.

Richardson appeared to be walking a small dog on a leash and also appeared to be the same person who — according to the surveillance video — had previously started a nearby dumpster on fire.

The detective met with Richardson and the report said, “she explained she had lit Bowers Collision fence on fire because she was mad at him (the victim) for the way he parks vehicles on his lot.”

Richardson explained when she “pulls up to the stop sign at Jewel Street and U.S. Highway 91 she is unable to see oncoming traffic and had almost wrecked three times.”

Richardson additionally told the detective she had previously started a fire in a dumpster because it was overflowing with trash.

Richardson added her son was responsible for lighting fires in area dumpsters on other occasions. The detective talked to her son a few days later after school and he said he lit between seven and eight dumpsters on fire in the last three years. Her son said he lit the fire because the dumpsters were overflowing with trash.

The detective had video evidence of the dumpster fires.

The detective wrote, “I told (him) I had watched the recording and the dumpsters were not overflowing. (He) then stated he wasn’t thinking when he lit them after which he would go into his apartment and watch the fires burn.”

The detective had asked him who was with him when he lit the fires and he told the detective it was his mother.

According to court documents, Richardson told the detective she was present when at least five of the fires were started by her son.

As the son is a minor, it’s not clear if he suffered any legal consequences from the fires.

Richardson was served a summons to appear in court.

She is scheduled for an initial court appearance in Bingham County Magistrate Court on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. The summons said, “failure to appear may result in a warrant being issued for the defendant’s arrest.”

According to Idaho State Law, felony arson in the third degree is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a $50,000 fine.