Rochester Man Accused of Starting Car & SUV on Fire

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester man has been charged in connection to a pair of vehicle fires. 

See Also: La Crosse Woman Killed in Crash at Olmsted County Interchange 

He was accused of starting the fires this past spring, according to a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court on Friday. 

The court document says both vehicles were destroyed in the fires. 

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Rochester Man Accused of Setting His Sister's SUV on Fire at Apartment Complex

44-year-old Matthew Clayton Hofbauer is charged with one count of second-degree arson. 

Rochester police responded to the report of vehicles on fire at a multi-unit residence in southeast Rochester on the evening of May 19. 

Responding officers saw smoke in the parking lot and located the vehicle fires. A small SUV was engulfed in flames and a sedan had just started on fire, the complaint says. 

The vehicles were parked near the building and the flames began to deform the siding. Upon arrival, officers were advised the suspect, later identified as Hofbauer, was fleeing the area on foot, the complaint says. 

Hofbauer’s mother and sister were in the area and told police Hofbauer had threatened to start his sister’s vehicle on fire and was upset his vehicle was not starting, the court document says. 

Police later determined the small SUV belonged to Hofbauer’s sister and the car belonged to Hofbauer. 

Officers later found Hofbauer in a wooded area near the scene of the fires and he told police he “‘did a stupid thing’ and that the fire was an accident,” according to the complaint. 

An investigation by the State Fire Marshall determined the SUV fire was not accidental. The investigation also identified a liquid accelerant at the scene, the court document says. 

Damages from the fire are over $1,000, the complaint says. Hofbauer is being charged via summons and is due to make his first court appearance next Spring.