Suspect released in arson case, charges dropped
Mount Pleasant Police are continuing their investigation into an arson on Walnut Street after releasing the first suspect on Thursday.
Isabella County prosecutors filed a motion of nolle prosequi in the case against Christopher Jay Allen Bott-Fleming, who was released from Isabella County Jail last week.
Bott-Fleming was charged with third degree arson and preparing to burn property valued greater than $20,000 after witnesses claimed to have seen him with fireworks near the storage warehouse that caught fire and covered the city in smoke on June 8. He was arrested June 10. The damage to the warehouse was estimated at $350,000.
Public Information Officer Jeff Browne said the prosecutor made the decision to drop the charges after video evidence showed Bott-Fleming was not in the building at the time of the incident.
Police are filing search warrants on cell phones. Browne said the incident may have involved juveniles. No other arrests have been made.
