Brooklyn Park man pleads guilty to St. Paul arson

A Brooklyn Park man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson in St. Paul’s Midway area.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said 20-year-old Samuel Elliot Frey and his co-conspirators — including 20-year-old McKenzy Ann DeGidio Dunn and a 17-year-old at the time — walked through multiple businesses on May 28, 2020, before going inside Great Health and Nutrition on University Avenue West. Frey then poured a bottle of hand sanitizer onto a downed shelving unit, lit a piece of paper on fire and placed it on the sanitizer.

The resulting fire damaged the store.

Prosecutors said Frey later directed his co-conspirators to lie to law enforcement about what happened.

Dunn pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson in October and was later sentenced to three years of probation. He also owes $31,578 in restitution.

Frey’s sentencing is set for a later date.