Rapid City man arrested in connection with recent suspicious fires

68-year-old Raymond Andrzejewski of Rapid City has been arrested on multiple criminal offenses following the investigation into a number of recent suspicious fires in the area of West Boulevard. The joint RCPD/Rapid City Fire Department investigation into these incidents began after encountering several suspicious fires that took place in the winter of 2020.

In the time since, both the RCPD and RCFD have invested hundreds of hours working to investigate the suspicious fires at a number of locations in the area. On February 8th, detectives approached Andrzejewski to ask him about the recent incidents. During the course of the interview, police learned he was responsible for these suspicious fires:

• 12/6/2020 garage fire in the 1000 block of W. Blvd.
• 12/6/2020 garage fire in the 1000 block of South St.
• 12/31/2020 freight room fire at 1018 11th St.
• 1/23/2021 garage fire in the 1000 block of 12th St.

Andrzejewski has since been placed under arrest for one count of First Degree Arson and three counts of Second Degree Arson. The RCPD Criminal Investigations Division anticipates additional criminal offenses to be pending for Andrzejewski as the active investigation into the additional suspicious fire incidents continues.

The Rapid City Police Department would like to extend its gratitude to the Rapid City Fire Department for their continued help in the investigation into these suspicious fires.

“We’re extremely thankful for the diligent cooperation that exists between the Rapid City Fire Department and our counterparts at the Rapid City Police Department,” says Rapid City Fire Chief Jason Culberson. “It’s our hope that the residents of this affected area can get back to a sense of normalcy with the news of this individual’s arrest.”

“It is a tremendous relief to be able to identify this individual and hold them accountable for their dangerous decisions that put the lives of the community at risk,” says Rapid City Chief of Police Don Hedrick. “I would like to commend the dedicated detectives of the RCPD’s Criminal Investigations Division for the tremendous amount of effort they put in to investigate these fires and ensure the safety of our citizens.”

* The charges are merely accusations and the arrested individual is presumed innocent until proven guilty.  Any additional details regarding this case can be obtained from the Pennington County State’s Attorney and/or court records as appropriate.