Police say a man is in jail and facing first-degree arson charges after he allegedly set fire to an adult bookstore in St. Cloud on Thursday, police said.
The 32-year-old suspect allegedly entered the Pure Pleasure bookstore with a gas can, poured fuel inside the store on the 600 block of S. Hwy. 10 and lit it on fire, said St. Cloud Police spokesman Jeff Oxton.
The fire did not breach the walls or roof. But the store sustained heavy smoke and heat damage, Oxton said.
Damage is estimated at $380,000, mostly from the loss of furniture and inventory, according to the St. Cloud Fire Department.
Crews were called to the store in the midafternoon and put out the fire. No customers were inside at the time and the lone employee escaped without injury and called police.
Officers found the suspect several blocks from the scene. He was arrested and taken to the Benton County Jail.
Police don't know the motive in the case, Oxton said.
