A man set fire to a dumpster behind Stella’s Fish Cafe in Minneapolis, which led to tens of thousands of dollars in damage. According to Bring Me the News, “security footage shows two men going into the alley area by Stella’s dumpsters around 3:04 a.m. on July 6. One man … was wearing a bulletproof vest.”
The man, identified as Tyler Michael Ferguson, can be seen igniting a paper bag he was carrying and throwing it on top of a dumpster piled high with cardboard in the alley behind Stella’s Fish Cafe. According to the complaint filed, Ferguson continued to put flammable material on the dumpster and then “moves the cardboard around to ensure the fire catches on.”
This was not the first time Ferguson had been witnessed starting dumpster fires during the riots and protests that have been happening in Minneapolis since the death of Winston Smith. As was reported on Bring Me the News, an employee of Stella’s had an interaction with Ferguson, where he talked about another dumpster fire he had lit that was so hot it “burned the pavement.” According to the employee, Ferguson also said he wanted to burn down the restaurant.
Ferguson was also reportedly out on zero bail for the sexual assault of a minor.
The mainstream #MNmedia outlets that reported on the arson charges against Tyler Michael Ferguson this morning completely failed to tell you that this perp was out on ZERO bail for sexual assault of a minor. Why?
System and media #Fail.
.https://t.co/hUvkWAYanf— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) July 14, 2021
The fire caused major damage to Stella’s, leading to their temporary closure since the fire. According to Bring Me the News, “Stella’s estimates the fire caused about $52,000 worth of damages to the HVAC systems, about $20,000 in damage to the dumpster area and $7,000-$10,000 to the security camera system.”
Stella’s is located on the same block as the parking garage where Winston Smith, a wanted man, was killed. Protests have been taking place near Stella’s since early June. As reported by The Minnesota Sun, violence and destruction have been taking place nightly since his death. The police did remove the memorial that had been constructed early Wednesday morning, which led to another night of rioting.
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Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun | Star News Network and The College Fix. She graduated with a degree in Communications from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. Send news tips to [email protected].
