Hobart man faces prison after being convicted of 3 counts of arson; victims include employer, father, aunt, uncle
GREEN BAY - A Hobart man is expected to be sentenced to 10 to 15 years in federal prison this week for setting three fires, including one to cover up the theft of money from his employer.
James T. Ambrosius, 25, admitted to setting a total of three blazes that were labeled "arson of a building used in interstate commerce." He had originally been charged in state court with setting eight fires, seven of those involving buildings.
Sentencing is slated for Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Green Bay.
RELATED: James T. Ambrosius of Hobart faces charges for string of arson fires in Brown County
RELATED: Police say Green Bay 'serial arsonist' admits to rash of fires, thefts from storage units, mailboxes
The local charges were dismissed in May in favor of the federal charges. Those include a fire at Ambrosius' father's house in Hobart, and two blazes at farms elsewhere in Brown County. One of those produced flames that reached as high as the treetops, and killed multiple cattle.
The three fires to which Ambrosius is pleading guilty included a March 2021 incident in which a truck was set afire at a Ledgeview vehicle-repair business, Dedicated Repair Inc., where Ambrosius worked at the time. An insurance claim resulted in the business owner receiving a check for just over $47,000, court records show.
A criminal complaint filed shortly after his arrest said Ambrosius started the fire to damage a truck because its owner had a large dog, which shed, and that he did not like performing repairs on the vehicle.
He later admitted having set that fire to cover up the theft of approximately $140 that he stole to pay for cocaine, according to a criminal complaint filed by sheriff's deputies when he was originally charged. Ambrosius was identified as a suspect in that fire by business employees who recognized him in a video taken during the blaze.
He will also be sentenced for a November 2020 fire on Fernando Drive in southern Ashwaubenon, and an August 2018 fire at his aunt and uncle's farm on Orlando Drive, also in Ashwaubenon.
Charges were dropped in these fires, which the criminal complaint filed with the Brown County Court said Ambrosius admitted setting:
July 20, 2021: Lazy S Farm in Hobart, with Ambrosius claiming the farm owner owed him $3,000.
Nov. 3, 2020: A farm in Hobart, where Ambrosius said cattle died in the blaze.
Sept. 21, 2020: An empty barn in Hobart.
Sept. 10, 2019: His father's house in Hobart.
May 23, 2018: Dedicated Repair Inc.
Three misdemeanor charges against Ambrosius also were dropped. They included two for theft and one for obstruction of an officer.
Contact Doug Schneider at (920) 431-8333, or DSchneid@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PGDougSchneider.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Hobart man to be sentenced after admitting to 3 counts of arson
