Missoula Man Is Charged With 5 Counts Involving Arson, Lodged Paper In Gas Tanks
The Missoula County Attorney’s Office is currently dealing with a case where multiple types of arson are involved. Deputy County Attorney Brittany Santorno says Jimmy Dean Johnson Jr. is being charged with two counts of arson and three counts of attempted arson.
“He had attempted to set a few vehicles on fire,” said Santorno. “These incidents happened in two separate places, but they had the same M.O. There was pieces of paper found lodged where you put your fuel into the vehicle. Two attempted to be burned and two vehicles had in fact been burned on the inside. He was able to get inside and burn, not from the outside.”
According to Santorno, the defendant made a significant error that linked him to scene of the crime.
“The second scene that we had, there was a piece of paper found in the gas tank and that paper had his name on it including some other medical information,” Santorno said. “That tied him to that scene. He had no connections to the owners of these vehicles that were set on fire, which also poses a big threat to the community given that there were no ties to the victims in these cases.”
Jimmy Dean Johnson Jr’s bail was set at $10,000 and he is being screened for pretrial supervision. No one was injured during these incidents.