WAHPETON, N.D. — A Fairmount, N.D., man has been accused of setting a car ablaze near a grocery store and gas pumps in Wahpeton.
Brandon Donald Prochnow, 31, appeared Wednesday, May 27, in Richland County District Court on a Class B felony charge of endangering people by fire or explosion. He could face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.
Prochnow was arrested Monday after Wahpeton police responded to a report of a man trying to start a brown car on fire in an Econofoods parking lot, according to court documents. Officers found Prochnow sitting in the car with a fire burning outside the vehicle’s rear door, police said.
Grocery store staff tried to put out the flames, but Prochnow “inhibited their efforts,” court documents said.
“The defendant exhibited extreme indifference to the value of human life because the fire he set was in close proximity to people who were pumping gas at a nearby gas station,” a criminal complaint said, adding Prochnow also allegedly put the lives of people inside Econofoods in danger.
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It doesn't appear anyone was injured in the fire. The Wahpeton Police Department did not return messages left by The Forum.
