A St. Cloud man has pleaded guilty to starting fires which caused more than $2.6-million in damage at the Martin Marietta granite quarry in Waite Park.
Forty-seven-year-old Raymond Curtis had been charged with 18 felony counts. He pleaded guilty to two counts of 1st-degree arson and seven counts of 2nd-degree arson. The remaining nine charges will be dropped at a sentencing hearing on July 22nd.
A Waite Park police officer spotted smoke coming from inside the gates at the quarry in the early morning hours of April 12, 2015. The officer discovered several fires inside dump trucks, loaders, buildings, and other vehicles. A large fuel tank was discharging diesel fuel onto the ground and into an open pond, conveyor belts were cut, storage trailers burned and oil plugs removed from rock crushers causing oil spills.