Rochester man sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for arson

(ABC 6 News) – A Rochester man has been sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for arson of multiple buildings in St. Paul.

On May 28, 2020, according to court documents, Jose Angel Felan, Jr., 36, set fire to a Goodwill retail store, the Gordon Parks High School and a 7 Mile Sportswear store, all of which were located on University Ave. in St. Paul.

Felan and his wife, Mena Dhaya Yousif, 23, fled the state and traveled from Rochester to Texas where Felan had family. They ultimately fled the United States and escaped to Mexico.

Thanks to an anonymous tip, on February 21, 2021, Felan and Yousif were located and detained by Mexican immigration authorities and returned to the United States.

Felan pleaded guilty to one count of arson on February 24, 2022 and on Tuesday was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 78 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $39,028 in restitution of the burned buildings.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the FBI, the St. Paul Police Department, the Rochester Police Department, the St. Paul Fire Department, and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division. The fugitive apprehension efforts were led by the U.S. Marshals Service.