Arson charge against BYU-I student dropped as part of agreement with prosecutor
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ST. ANTHONY — A Brigham Young University-Idaho student no longer faces a felony arson charge after an agreement with Fremont County Prosecutor Lindsey Blake.
Jason Erlandson, 19, of San Diego, was originally charged with felony second-degree arson after a target shooting incident burnt a camper trailer down in November. However, according to court documents obtained by EastIdahonews.com, Blake asked on Feb. 9 that the charges be dropped “in the interest of justice.”
The dropping of Erlandson’s charges comes as part of a diversion agreement between Blake and Erlandson. According to the agreement obtained by EastIdahoNews.com, prosecutors will not refile the charge if for the next 18 months Erlandson meets certain conditions.
The agreement is Erlandson will not receive any felony or misdemeanor convictions, not possess a firearm, pay $250 to the fire department in restitution and pay restitution to the owner of the camper if they contact the courts. Erlandson must also complete 20 hours of community service.
Erlandson was originally arrested after he allegedly shot an exploding target inside a TV, which ignited the abandoned camper on fire in a rural area.
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A witness called first responders and reported a black Toyota pickup truck quickly drove away from the fire. While firefighters put out the camper, a law enforcement officer stopped the pickup and found Erlandson and three other people inside.
Investigators with the St. Anthony Police Department, U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Fremont County were on scene. They felt Erlandson would be most likely to cooperate and began asking him questions. Erlandson told a BLM officer that his fingerprints would be on the explosive target containers found 20 to 30 yards from the burnt camper, according to court documents.
Erlandson reportedly told investigators he placed the exploding target inside the TV that was inside the abandoned camper. Erlandson also said he fired a friend’s gun at the TV and admitted that when the fire ignited, the four drove away. The group then dropped the gun off at a house in St. Anthony.
Deputies placed Erlandson into handcuffs and booked him into the Fremont County Jail on the felony charge. The other three with Erlandson were let off with a warning that if they got into trouble in the next year deputies would file charges against them.