Sheboygan woman charged with arson after she's suspected of setting her own apartment on fire in November
SHEBOYGAN — A Sheboygan woman is being charged with five felony counts after she is suspected of setting her own apartment on fire.
Edie M. Sanford, 48, was charged with arson of a building without the owner’s consent and four counts of second-degree reckless endangering of safety.
The original story: Sheboygan fire at Eighth Street apartment displaces 1 resident, causes $8K in damages
The following are all alleged activities as described in the criminal complaint of the case. The case was filed Nov. 29, 2023, and no ruling has been made.
Solomon Gatton, listed as the defense attorney in the case, did not immediately respond to an opportunity to comment on this article.
Last November, Sanford was living in an apartment in the 1000 block of North Eighth Street when she began making comments to other tenants she was going to start a fire and “figure out how to get back at Vista Care.”
A Vista Care employee reported Sanford was “very upset” about being in the process of eviction.
A worker in the building saw black smoke come out of Sanford’s apartment and Sanford outside of the apartment seemingly “mad at everyone.” The worker said Sanford indicated everyone should leave.
When the worker opened the apartment door, they were unable to go inside because of the fire.
Sanford’s neighbor told officers Sanford had said the day before — Nov. 21 — that she was going to start the fire and didn’t care if her belongings burned. Sanford commented about getting back at Vista Care because she was mad about her eviction, the neighbor said.
The worker at the front desk of the building told officers they saw Sanford go past the desk saying, “You made me do it” and “I did it.”
The maintenance manager went to Sanford’s apartment after the fire was set and reported seeing a knee-high fire approximately 10 feet in length. He tried to put the fire out with two fire extinguishers before firefighters arrived.
According to an initial news release from Sheboygan Fire Department on Nov. 22, the report of the fire was made at about 9 a.m. and the estimated amount lost to damage was $8,000.
Sanford was later found in Fountain Park and was taken into custody. She reportedly made incoherent comments and seemed “out of the ordinary.”
The next scheduled court activity is a competency hearing later this month.
More felony filings: Sheboygan woman pleads not guilty to making terrorist threats against sheriff's department
Fulfilling our obligation: This report is part of the Sheboygan Press's mission to follow criminal cases from arrest to their conclusion.
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This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan woman charged with arson in November 2023 apartment fire
