Charges dismissed against man arrested after Albany arson

By KVAL.com staff Published: Dec 7, 2010 at 4:31 PM PDT Last Updated: Dec 7, 2010 at 5:17 PM PDT
Charges dismissed against man arrested after Albany arson
The Nov. 14 blaze destroyed a vacant house and seriously damaged an occupied house. No one was hurt. Charges are being dropped against a man arrested after that fire and charged in two of the arsons.

ALBANY, Ore. - A grand jury heard evidence Tuesday on two in a rash of recent arson fires and found no reason to indict anyone with the crime at this time.

Deputy District Attorney George Eder told KVAL News that prosecutors have submitted a motion to dismiss the present charges against Daniel Quast, who has been held at the Linn County Jail since early on the morning of Nov. 15 on three counts of arson related to fires in vacant houses Nov. 3 and Nov. 14.

The Nov. 14 blaze spread to an occupied home nextdoor.

Eder said he expects Quast will be released "soon."

Since Quast's arrest, firefighters and police have responded to four more arson fires in vacant buildings in Albany.

Police had told KVAL News there might be more than one arsonist, or that Quast wasn't working alone.

However, after hearing the evidence, the grand jury found no reason to charge Quast or anyone else in the Nov. 3 and Nov. 14 fires at this time.

Eder expects that police will continue to investigate the fires.

City officials took steps on Monday to secure vacant homes by boarding up doors and windows. The city developed a list of 90 vacant houses and buildings considered at-risk in the wake of 10 arson fires that have damaged 11 buildings since Oct. 22.