Updated: 11/13/2012 4:38 PM
Created: 11/13/2012 4:37 PM KSTC45.com | Print Story | Email
By: Cassie Hart

North Branch Man Admits to Arson

A North Branch man admitted to using a lighter and a cigarette to start a dumpster fire, which spread to an animal hospital.

Ryan Ortlepp is charged with two counts of arson. Police say he caused the fire at the North Branch Veterinary Hospital on November 4th.

Surveillance video showed Ortlepp purchasing those cigarettes and lighter about 30 minutes earlier at a nearby gas station.

He's also accused of starting several other fires in the area, including one at a restaurant two days earlier.