HELENA – A 36 year-old Helena man is accused of burning down a restaurant on Helena’s west side.
Brad Richardson has been charged with one count of arson and one count of conspiracy from anOctober 2018 fireat the Red Roof Cafe building on the 1900 block Euclid Avenue.
Firefighters say when they arrived they found evidence that the fire had been intentionally lit, including combustible material stacked around an open burner on a hot water heater, a burned mattress and a mattress blocking the rear entrance.
Court records say investigators learned of the suspect the following month when Richardson went to a relative of the building’s owner and demanded money.
Richardson lived in a trailer to the north of the restaurant and, according to the owner, watched the property following the eviction of the previous tenants.
Prosecutors say in court documents that Richardson had met with the restaurant’s owner previously and offered to burn the restaurant down for a portion of the insurance money.
The owner says she declined the offer.
Two witnesses told investigators that Richardson admitted to setting the fire, and that he had details that only someone who committed the act would have known.
Court records say Richardson claims he conspired with the building’s owner to burn it down.
The judge set bond at $50,000.
