United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri
08/10/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/10/2026 18:57
Man Admits Setting Fires at St. Louis County Hotel
ST. LOUIS - A Florissant man on Monday admitted setting fires in a hotel near Ferguson, Missouri in 2025.
Brandon Dallas Smith, 40, admitted purchasing a cup of gasoline from a convenience store at 2:26 a.m. on March 26, 2025, and then using that gas to ignite several fires at the hotel. Two of the fires were ignited outside of hotel room doors. Hotel guests put out the fires before the fire department arrived, but the hotel was damaged.
Smith pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of use of a facility of interstate commerce with intent to commit a crime of violence in furtherance of arson.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 18.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis County Bomb and Arson Squad investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Finlen is prosecuting the case.
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